Proteas gutted in defeat after falling to Uganda at Netball World Cup

Closing out their campaign with a defeat to Uganda, the Proteas admitted they were gutted yesterday after settling for sixth position at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town.

The SA squad put up a fight in their last playoff match of the tournament but were ultimately edged out in a narrow 49-47 defeat to the She-Cranes.

While the home team tried desperately to claw their way back in the final quarter, Uganda held on to take fifth position – their best ever finish at a World Cup.

“It was very important to try and give it our best shot and maintain our (world) ranking, but we just gave away too many balls,” said Proteas captain Bongi Msomi.

“Kudos to them (Uganda). They played really well today, and I’m obviously disappointed. I still need to go back and try and feel this. At this point, I don’t even know what to feel.”

It was the first time since 2007 that the Proteas finished outside the top five at the global showpiece.

However, veteran defender Karla Pretorius agreed with Msomi, admitting the hosts had not played their best against a rising Uganda side.

‘Really disappointing’

“It comes back to ourselves. We didn’t play the way we were supposed to,” said Pretorius, who was named Player of the Tournament at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, where the SA team finished fourth.

“They just put us under a lot of pressure and against a team like this you don’t win a lot of balls, so you need to capitalise on it, and we did not do that today. So it’s really disappointing. We really wanted that win.”

Meanwhile, Australia beat England 61-45 in the final, lifting their 12th World Cup title, and Jamaica beat defending champions New Zealand 52-45 in the bronze medal playoff.

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