Proteas netball team eager to start new era with a bang

Led by a new coach and captain, the Proteas netball team are confident they will get their new era off to a positive start when they host Malawi in the three-match Spar Challenge series at Ellis Park this week.

This will be the national squad’s first Test series since new head coach Jenny van Dyk replaced former coach Norma Plummer and Khanyisa Chawane replaced long-time captain Bongi Msomi, who retired late last year.

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Despite the new-look leadership, however, Van Dyk said she had worked with the players remotely before the SA squad convened for a camp in Johannesburg last week, and she believed they were ready to hit the ground running.

“We’ve been working hard around the clock ever since our appointment and we’ve really aligned as a team, and we’ve set our goals and dreams,” Van Dyk said.

“The journey starts now and we are hopeful. We know this is going to be a good ride for us, and who better to start it off with than a team from Africa?”

Long-time rivals

The Malawi Queens were the Proteas’ perennial rivals for a lengthy period before they started to slip in recent years, with Uganda emerging as South Africa’s strongest African opposition.

In the current world rankings, the Proteas are ranked fifth, Uganda are sixth and Malawi are seventh.

Van Dyk, however, insisted that they were not taking anything for granted in an attempt to get the new leadership’s tenure off to a winning start.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for the Malawi Queens and I’ve been watching them play since I was a young girl. Some years we would beat them, and other years they would beat us,” Van Dyk said.

“Over the past few years South Africa did dominate a little bit more, but we have respect for them and we know this is going to be a good challenge, so we’re excited about it.”

South Africa will face Malawi in the first of three Tests at Ellis Park on Thursday night, starting at 6pm, followed by games at the same venue on Saturday (5pm) and Sunday (3pm).