Proteas player Phumza Maweni challenges Mary Cholhok of Uganda for the ball at the Netball World Cup. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Netball World Cup 2023
Giving it what they could under extreme circumstances, South Africa put up a tremendous fight at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town on Thursday, holding on for a 52-50 victory over Uganda in their last match of the second round, though they ultimately missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
While they entered the match with a slim chance of progressing to the last four, South Africa needed to win the game by 64 points, and they were up against a massive wall in an attempt to crush a Ugandan team which has been celebrated as one of the fastest rising sides in global netball.
They were injected by energy drawn from the faith of supporters across the country, after pushing defending World Cup champions New Zealand to a thrilling draw the night before, but the Proteas needed to produce the performance of the century to pull it off.
They held nothing back from the opening whistle, pushing forward in a desperate attempt to summon a sporting miracle, but their ambitious goal was always just out of reach.
The Proteas held a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and they were 33-19 up at half-time, and while their 14-point advantage was impressive in itself, it left them needing to extend the gap by another 50 points in the second half.
Facing an insurmountable task, the hosts let it slip in the third quarter, with Uganda narrowing the gap to just five points (41-36) with 15 minutes left in the fixture.
And while the She-Cranes were even more troublesome in the last stanza, with Proteas head coach Norma Plummer having to throw everything at them by making rolling changes in the closing stages, the SA team managed to hang on for a narrow win.
Though they did well to beat their top-flight African rivals, South Africa settled for third place in Group G (finishing level on points with New Zealand but behind them on goal difference) and were relegated to the lower position playoffs.
New Zealand will face England in the semi-finals, while Jamaica will meet 11-time champions Australia, in the battle for places in this weekend’s final.
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