Proteas head coach Norma Plummer has lamented her team’s high error-rate which ultimately led to their first Netball World Cup defeat against Jamaica on Sunday.
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It almost seemed like lightning had strike twice in one place when Proteas took on the Sunshine Girls on match day three of the 2023 Netball World Cup – a case of de Javu all over the again.
The last time the two met at a Netball World Cup was exactly four years ago at the very same stage of the game – South Africa came up on tops during that match.
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PROTEAS VS SUNSHINE GIRLS MATCH RECAP
This game was always going to be a tough one for both teams who are ranked 4th and 5th respectively. Both teams came into this game very high in confidence after securing two wins each before today. The match was evenly contested in three of the four quarters, but Jamaica’s outright dominance in the third was ultimately what swung the result in their favour.
Trailing just 32-26 after the second quarter, the South Africans were simply outclassed in the third quarter. Sunshine Girls pulled away on the scoreboard, racking up 20 goals with Jhaniele Fowler leading the way, while conceding just three in the same period.
The Proteas were much better in the final quarter, outscoring the visitors 20 to 15, but it was too little too late as the damage had already been done, paving the way for a 67–49 win for Jamaica.
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WHAT WAS SAID AFTER FIRST NETBALL WORLD CUP LOSS
“We went into this match knowing that it was going to be a tough game, I mean seven of their players are playing in the Super League, that showed today,” Plummer explained.
“Our players did well, we had a few mistakes that cost us dearly, but I think these are things we can work on. No one wants to lose but there are lessons we are taking out of this – the journey doesn’t stop here, we have a few more games to go and anything can happen from here onwards,” she added.
“We will need to be better prepared for our remaining fixtures if we are to go all the way, we are not naïve to assume or think that it will be any easier – we must take the lessons, apply them and see what happens from there.”
The Proteas will now play against Trinidad & Tobago in the newly formed Group G at 18:00 on Monday 31 July 2023. Their two other clashes will be against current World Champions New Zealand and fellow Africans Uganda.
A reminder that you can also watch the action live on SuperSport, SABC and Showmax Pro.
