Proteas edge England in gritty series opener at Ellis Park

The Proteas struck the first blow in the SPAR Challenge netball series at Ellis Park Arena in the City of Johannesburg on Thursday night, holding their nerve to win the opening Test 52-48.

Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since 2024, there were a few nerves from the South Africans in the opening minutes. England capitalised to edge into a 3-7 lead.

TACTICAL RESILIENCE

Once the Proteas had settled, they produced some beautifully slick passages of play. An impressive defensive display from the likes of eventual Player of the Match, Sanmarie Visser, and Juanita van Tonder allowed them to quickly make up the deficit and build a four-goal lead by the end of the first quarter, which ended 16-12.

The starting seven did an excellent job for the hosts, and South African coach Jenny van Dyk stuck with the same combination for the second quarter. The South African defence continued to make it difficult for the English as the SPAR Proteas maintained their four-goal cushion into the half-time break, leading 29-25.

A MOMENTUM SHIFT

Van Dyk made two changes at the start of the third quarter: Kamogelo Maseko replaced Owethu Ngubane at goal attack.

Nicola Smith replaced Juanita van Tonder as goalkeeper, earning her 50th Test cap.The combination took a while to settle, and a defensive change from England saw the momentum shift.

The visitors closed the gap to level matters at 31-31 before sneaking ahead. Kyla Dames was brought on at wing attack, moving captain Khanyisa Chawane to centre, while Van Tonder returned to the goalkeeper position. The period ended with South Africa trailing 38-39.

THE FINAL PUSH

The fourth quarter brought further adjustments, with Tarle Mathe returning to centre and Ngubane back at goal attack. Despite a few lapses in concentration that unsettled the rowdy crowd, the South Africans refound their rhythm. They fought back into the lead and opened up the gap to secure the 52-48 victory.

“We had great momentum in that first quarter. Second quarter, we stayed in it, and we knew after half-time that they were going to come out with a full counter-plan,” said a thrilled van Dyk.

Speaking on the third-quarter dip, she added: “We didn't quite adapt to what they were giving us that well... It was a game of chess, making quite a lot of changes and plans, but the players stepped up and really showed that they wanted this win.”

PLAYING FOR A CAUSE

Proteas captain Khanyisa Chawane acknowledged that while it wasn't their best performance, the team’s ability to regroup was vital. She also noted that the team wore black armbands to honour the 14 schoolchildren recently killed in a tragic road accident.

“We just came out to play for those kids,” Chawane said. “They had all their lives in front of them... we wanted to go out there to play our hearts out to show our condolences.”

The second Test between the SPAR Proteas and England takes place on Saturday, 31 January at 5 pm, followed by the third on Sunday, 1 February at 4 pm.