D-Day for SA netballers

THE South African netball team may be going into the next leg of the Quad Series slightly under-cooked but coach Norma Plummer hopes they can nevertheless continue their stellar form from 2017.

The Proteas start their preparations for the Commonwealth Games in earnest when they face off against defending world champions Australia in London today (5.30pm SA time).

They will go into the clash buoyed by their 2017 for m despite a lack of game time ahead of the fourth leg of the series.

Former Australian mentor Plummer said although she was worried about their lack of preparations, she believed her charges would be able to draw inspiration from last year’s performances.

“The last Quad Series was fantastic but the issue we have at the moment is that we haven’t seen the girls since the start of September while England, Australia and New Zealand have been playing Test matches,” Plummer said before their departure for London..

“So I am a bit concerned over the lack of preparation but in saying that we have an extremely strong side and I am pretty hopeful we can try and repeat what we put out.”

They beat the England Roses to claim their maiden Netball Quad Series victory while they also lost to Australia and New Zealand by less than seven points. The team rounded off the season with a 2-0 series drubbing of Fiji.

Plummer said the team have grown in stature and have earned respect from the three top sides in the world.

“We have always been regarded slightly as the underdog with Australia, New Zealand and England not taking us quite that seriously, But now they put their best players on against us, which I feel was a compliment to us. We are steadily closing the gap between us and the two top teams, Australia and New Zealand.”

Plummer said it was important for the team to hit their straps early on to give them the necessary confidence boost before the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April.

The time for testing combinations is seemingly over as Plummer looks to get her team firing on all cylinders come the quadrennial showpiece.

“We are lucky that seven of our best players will be playing in tough overseas leagues between the Quad Series and the Games. Two will play in Australia, one in New Zealand and four in England. That extra experience will be invaluable for the whole team.”

The Proteas return to Johannesburg for the SA leg of the series and take on New Zealand on Thursday and the England Roses next Sunday.