Nearly a week after a Sunday newspaper broke the news that Netball SA (NSA) had recalled Norma Plummer as coach of the Proteas, the federation confirmed it in a statement.
The Australian will take over as on-court technical and tactical coach in the build-up to the World Cup in Cape Town next year.
Plummer, who had coached SA until the 2019 World Cup, will be assisted by Nicole Cussack, Dumisani Chauke, Fikile Phasha, Yolandi Willemse and Innis Erasmus.
Dorette Badenhorst, who had taken over as coach after Plummer, is no longer involved in the set-up.
The Proteas, after finishing fourth at the World Cup, ended a disappointing sixth at the Commonwealth Games, having lost to Uganda in the playoff for fifth place. SA was also well beaten by Jamaica and Australia in their group matches.
NSA president Cecilia Molokwane had previously stated the team was looking to make the podium at their home World Cup from July 28 to August 6, 2023.
“The decision to make these changes was not an easy one to make considering how close we are to the Netball World Cup,” she said in the statement issued late on Saturday afternoon.
“However, they were needed. This was not an easy one to make, however, in the interest of the team and country, we felt we needed to initiate them now rather than later.”
The team will head to Stellenbosch for a training camp after the Spar Diamond Challenge, a four-nation tournament also featuring Scotland, Zimbabwe and an SA President’s team in Pretoria from November 22-26.
“The reason for this camp is to make sure that management team gets ready for the upcoming Quad Series in January 2023,” the statement read.
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