Netball Proteas set sights on tough Jamaica after beating Wales and Sri Lanka

The Netball World Cup starters against Wales and Sri Lanka went down well for the Spar Proteas but now it’s time for the main course and it comes in the form of the not easily digestible Jamaica on Sunday. 

South Africa opened the tournament by blowing away the Welsh Feathers 61-50 on Friday and followed up with an utterly dominant 87-32 victory over hapless minnows Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The meeting against Sri Lanka was Karla Pretorius' 100th Test match and 50th for Ine-Marí Venter. 

Wins over Wales and Sri Lanka here at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) were negotiable but it gets tougher against the fourth-ranked Jamaicans in this match which will have far reaching consequences. 

The result of the match against Jamaica will go a long way in determining if the Proteas will qualify for the semifinal stage on home soil. 

According to an extremely complicated set of permutations, to have an easier route to the semis, the Proteas must beat the Jamaican Sunshine Girls in what is expected to be a grudge affair because of their growing rivalry. 

This is because the result of the match against Jamaica will be carried through and will count in the stage two preliminaries where there are more matches to be played possibly against New Zealand, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. 

The Proteas will not play against Jamaica again in the next round, which will become Group G, and only two teams will progress to the semifinals from this stage of the tournament. 

If South Africa beat Jamaica, they will put themselves in a better position to finish second in the preliminary stage two which is likely to include powerhouse New Zealand, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. 

Defeat to Jamaica will weaken South Africa’s semifinal chances as they will be faced with the prospect of having to beat defending champions New Zealand, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. 

At the same time, the Proteas will be hoping that Jamaica doesn’t get the desired results against New Zealand, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. 

On Saturday, Proteas coach Norma Plummer made some changes with captain and wing attack Bongiwe Msomi, goal defence Shadine van der Merwe and goal shooter Elmeré van den Berg keeping their places in the starting line-up. 

Goal attack Nichole Taljaard, centre Izette Griesel, wing defence Jeante Strydom and goalkeeper Nicola Smith were given their first starts of the tournament. 

Centre Khanyisa Chawane, shooter Ine-Marí Venter, goal defence Karla Pretorius and goalkeeper Phumza Maweni were relegated to the bench to lessen their workloads. 

The changes didn’t affect the team as Smith and Van der Merwe were solid in the defence, Msomi, Griesel and Strydom controlled in the middle and Taljaard and Van den Berg were a constant threat on the attack before replacements at halftime. 

Once again, veteran shooter Lenize Potgieter, who missed the opening win over Wales, did not get game time as she has not recovered from a niggle and it remains to be seen if she will be available against Jamaica. 

The Proteas were dominant from the first centre pass against this modest Sri Lanka side that was smashed 105-25 by Jamaica during their first game on Friday and they have now leaked in 197 goals after two matches. 

Proteas coach Plummer will be happy that her charges have found consistency and they are benefiting from the raucous full-house home support at the CTICC that is worrying Jamaica. 

“We will have to raise our game because we are not only going to face the South African team on court but the crowd is going to be completely in their favour,” said Jamaica assistant coach Rob Wright after their 75-40 win over Wales on Saturday morning. 

“It is going to be a real test for us on Sunday but we are looking forward to it. Just like South Africa, we are a strong side. It is about making sure that we work and keep refining what we have been doing from the past two games.

“We have picked things that we need to tweak here and there, so we will go back and work on those things.” 

Jamaican captain Jhaniele Fowler added: “We know that South Africa are going to come hard at us but we just need to stay grounded and make sure that we stick to the game plan.” 

1st Quarter: SA 24-9 Sri Lanka 

2nd Quarter: SA 45-18 Sri Lanka 

3rd Quarter: SA 68-24 Sri Lanka 

4th Quarter: SA 87-32 Sri Lanka

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