SPAR Proteas Team with coaches posing with winning trophy
Download imageSPAR Baby Proteas with SPAR Series trophy
Download imageIn the final matches, the Proteas beat Wales 64-50, while the Baby Proteas thrashed their Welsh counterparts 88-21. Both the Proteas and Baby Proteas won their respective first two games on the two days prior giving both teams a 3-0 series win respectively.
The Proteas did not have everything their own way in the third and final match. Wales, ranked eighth in the world to South Africa’s fifth, had a brilliant first quarter but were not strong enough to beat the South Africans in the end.
Coach Norma Plummer said she was very happy with the outcome of the series. “We won three-love, so I have to be happy. I’ve had a squad of 14 and I was able to play all 14 players. I took some risks, playing three new caps, but I was able to see what depth there is in South African netball,” she said. “South Africa’s shooting is looking particularly healthy.”
Plummer said she was delighted with the work ethic in the South African team. “They also respond very well when you give them feedback between the quarters. Every now and then they’d go into a dip, but those are things that we can continue to work on.”
Wales coach Trish Wilcox was also very happy with her team’s performances. “They displayed a style of netball that we’ve been working on for a while,” she said. “We’ve gained such a lot from this series. That opportunity to keep playing the top teams is invaluable, especially with the Commonwealth Games coming up.”
South African goal shooter Lenize Potgieter, who recently returned from playing in the English Super League, said she was very happy to be back with her Protea teammates. “From the first training camp, we clicked as a team. It’s all my teammates who make me look good. They get the ball to me and all I have to do is get the ball in the net,” she said.
“Netball is very much a team game, and this is a great team to be in.”
Photo Credit : Reg Caldecott
