Proteas need ‘better quality’ competition year-round, says Plummer

The Proteas need to face top-flight competition more regularly, head coach Norma Plummer lamented at the weekend, after her team got off to a wobbly start at the Netball Quad Series tournament in Cape Town.

Having opened their campaign with a 61-41 defeat to New Zealand on Saturday, South Africa went on to settle for a share of the points in a rare 46-46 draw against England on Sunday.

Preparing to face giants Australia in their last round-robin match on Tuesday night (6pm), Plummer felt the SA team did not have a sufficient build-up, in comparison to their opponents.

While the sides ranked above them had played each other in recent months, the Proteas were limited to the Diamond Challenge series late last year against lowly-ranked Scotland and Zimbabwe.

‘’I’m pleased we are out there but Australia and New Zealand have had a Constellation Cup, which is five games. England came in having played New Zealand for three games as well as Australia. England also played Jamaica,” Plummer said after the Proteas’ defeat to world champions New Zealand.

“We have played a team that is ranked 13th and a team that is ranked No 35. The Spar Diamond Challenge has to be better quality, for the team to actually pick up the pace.”

ALSO READ: Proteas eager to sharpen up for World Cup in Netball Quad Series

Plummer was also unhappy with the officiating in the Quad Series and elsewhere, claiming there were inconsistencies at international level, with different standards and interpretations being applied across the globe.

‘’I actually had a chat with the umpires. We want consistency,” Plummer said after South Africa lost late control against England to settle for a share of the points in the Mother City.

‘Same page’

“There was a scoring end, and on the other end, it wasn’t. I would like to see umpires all have the same idea on what a contact, obstruction or some sort of penalty is, but they all seem to be different,” added Plummer, who guided her native Australia to World Cup titles in 2007 and 2011.

“We might be from different countries but not enough is done to unify the base of those umpires being on the same page.”

The Netball Quad Series playoffs – featuring the final and the third-place contest – will be held at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town on Wednesday.