Netball Proteas skipper Msomi to seek World Cup advice from Kolisi and other captains

Spar Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi plans to solicit advice from other national team skippers, among them Siya Kolisi and Sune Luus, ahead of her bid to lead her team to a successful Netball World Cup campaign on home soil.

The 35-year-old will be looking to emulate her counterparts when she leads the Netball Proteas in the showpiece in Cape Town from July 28 to August 6.

Luus led cricket's women’s Proteas to the T20 World Cup final, which they lost to Australia in the Mother City in February, while Springbok captain Kolisi won the 2019 Rugby World Cup with his team in Japan.

Refiloe Jane captained Banyana Banyana to their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in Morocco last year, in which they defeated the hosts.

While they might not be able to give her tactical tips on how to beat opponents on a netball court, Msomi believes they can guide her in coping with the pressures of leading a national team at a major sports event, especially one on home soil.

“There are a few plans we have made ... and I’m pretty sure speaking to captains in our [other] national teams will be one thing we would like to do,” Msomi said on Tuesday.   

“It's just to have a chat and see how they took on ... you don’t want to say pressure, but what you need to lead the side that will represent us all in a World Cup at home is something you cannot take for granted.

“I’m quite lucky that I have contact with the likes of Siya Kolisi.

“It’s not to say there’s something they can completely change, but just to hear their views and see how we can take on this journey.”

Netball South Africa have given the Proteas a mandate to at least make the podium, something the team has not achieved since the 1995 World Cup, when the Irene van Dyk-captained team finished runners-up to Australia in England.

Msomi, a wing attack, is happy with how the 15 players who have been selected by coach Norma Plummer and her technical team are preparing for the tournament.

Plummer is set to cut down her team to 12, with three to travel as reserves.

“Everyone is looking forward to the team announcement. There’s 15 of us and we know that with the change in rules three non-travelling players can now come to the World Cup, but they can only take part if there’s a serious injury,” Msomi said.

“That’s something that is going to help us and the other teams.

“But I really have to say, even before the [preliminary] team was announced, everyone was really pumped and the work rate at training was fantastic.

“I’m so pleased that I'm not a coach because I’m pretty sure they had a good headache trying to pick the 15, which is something we were looking forward to over the year, to have really good depth in the Spar Proteas.”