Proteas netball team put up a fight to earn a rare draw against England

South Africa bounced back on Sunday to earn a share of the points after a thrilling encounter with England in their second match of the Netball Quad Series tournament in Cape Town.

After being handed a crushing 61-41 defeat by world champions New Zealand in their opening fixture the day before, the Proteas were on fire against the Roses, showing some real grit to wrap up a rare 46-46 draw.

The SA team managed to take early control but England soon showed their class, taking the lead after three minutes and quickly drawing clear.

While the English side looked like they were getting ready to run rampant, however, the Proteas managed to pull it back and by the end of the first quarter they were back in front (13-12).

Doing well to put their opponents under pressure, South Africa were edged in the second quarter, but they did enough to hold on, entering the half-time break level at 23-23.

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And with the support of the home crowd, they were able to open a gap in the third quarter to hold a 36-33 lead going into the final period.

Trading blows throughout the last 15 minutes, the two sides were neck-and-neck, and though they had a chance to secure a groundbreaking victory, the hosts ultimately settled for a single point.

‘Proud’ skipper

In the build-up to the Netball World Cup in Cape Town later this year, Proteas captain Bongi Msomi said she was pleased to see her team putting up a fight and punching above their weight against one of the top sides in the world.

“I’m proud of the girls. We knew yesterday we didn’t play our best netball, and we have a long way to go, but this was a big step up for us,” said Msomi, who was named Player-of-the-Match.

“I think we are a very honest side, so we went back last night and had a look at ourselves and managed to perform on court, rather than just saying we’re going to do it.”

South Africa will be back in action on Tuesday night (6pm) when they face global giants Australia in their last match of the round robin stage of the Quad Series competition.