Gauteng teams set their sights on national netball title

Johannesburg are on a collision course with Tshwane this week, with the two sides emerging as the title favourites after dominating the early stages of the Spar National Netball Championships in Potchefstroom.

Opening the second day of competition on Tuesday with a Gauteng derby, Tshwane edged Johannesburg 34-32 in their round robin match, leaving Tshwane as the only unbeaten team left in the tournament.

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“We tried new combinations today, and we haven’t played our best seven yet, so I’m still keeping that card close to my chest,” said Johannesburg captain Elsje Jordaan.

“You don’t win this tournament on day two – you win it on Saturday (in the final) – and I’m never happy with a loss, but I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen from my team.”

Johannesburg went on to beat Nelson Mandela Bay 39-27 in the last match of the day, and while they were level on points at the top of the table, Tshwane held a game in hand.

Nelson Mandela Bay were lying third in the seven-team senior A-division with two victories from three games.

Struggling champions

Defending champions Cape Winelands picked up their first win, beating Buffalo City 41-28 in their third match of the tournament, but they still had plenty of work to do to reach the playoffs. They were level on points with Mangaung, who held a game in hand.

Buffalo City, meanwhile, were left stranded at the bottom of the standings after losing three straight matches.

While they had beaten Nelson Mandela Bay 27-25 on day one, they were stripped of the points because they missed racial targets by not including at least two white players in their team.

Host district Dr Kenneth Kaunda were the only other side who had not picked up a win after two days of competition.