Proteas settle for sixth position at Netball World Cup

Bringing their campaign to a thrilling close, the Proteas put up a fight on Sunday but ultimately settled for a disappointing sixth position at the Netball World Cup after falling in a narrow 49-47 defeat to Uganda in Cape Town.

With both teams having been eliminated from the semi-finals earlier in the week, they set up an all-African clash in the battle for fifth and sixth positions. And they did not disappoint in an exciting contest that had the crowd on its feet.

Uganda took the early advantage, holding a one-point gap (12-11) at the end of the first quarter, but the Proteas hit back to level the scores at 23-23 at the half-time break.

Unlike their previous matches, which saw Proteas head coach Norma Plummer making regular changes, the hosts stuck with their starting seven players for most of the fixture.

Second half

Their consistency on court did little to hold off a gutsy Ugandan team, however, and their opponents extended the gap again in the third quarter to take a narrow 39-37 lead into the last stanza.

While the home team tried desperately to claw their way back again, Uganda held on in the final 15 minutes to take fifth position – their best ever finish at a World Cup.

For the Proteas, it was the first time since 2007 that they finished outside the top five at the global showpiece.

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