Netball team lose but win respect
THE SPAR Proteas netball team suffered their second defeat in a week when they went down 51-46 to the New Zealand Silver Ferns at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg on Thursday evening in this SANZEA Quad Series.
Earlier in the week Australia’s four-point victory over the Proteas (54-50) was their 36th straight win since the two countries first played against one another in the past 10 years, signalling that the Proteas have reached a new level against the top-ranked countries.
It also sent out a message to Australia (No 1 in the world) and New Zealand (No 2) that their growing reputation as the danger team of world netball augurs well for this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Australia and the Proteas (No 3) have been drawn in the same pool opposite England (No 4) and New Zealand.
England have also raised their standard, so much so that they posted a shock 64-57 victory over the Silver Ferns and will have to be treated with respect at the Games.
Apart from a brief period of dominance in the first five minutes of the game against the SANZEA defending champions, New Zealand, the Proteas were always on the back foot, trailing 9-14 at the end of the first quarter, 21-25 at halftime and 35-38 going into the fourth and last quarter.
It was all uphill for the Proteas, who will hope to redeem themselves against England tomorrow. THE first leg of the Sigma Series hosted by the Point Yacht Club (PYC) was sailed last Sunday in almost perfect offshore conditions with the line honours in the A Division racing fleet deservedly going to Pat Boase at the helm of CFM and Vernon Goss taking the B Division win aboard Bellissima.
The race officer for the day, Greg Donkin, sent the combined fleets off on a northerly route, the top yachts to turn at uMhlanga and the cruising class turning for home at Virginia Beach.
The three leading yachts were closely bunched at the turning buoy set off uMhlanga, but Boase soon had the advantage over Gregg Hurter on Bellatrix and Craig Millar on Argo FY during the first half of the return leg. Millar’s tactic to veer further offshore backfiring on him as Boase crossed the line in one hour 53min 7sec, 9:25 ahead of Hurter. Hurter beat Millar by 81 seconds.
Nhlanhla Phakathi led on Ithemba in the A division L26 class with Brendon Humphrey declining to fly his spinnaker to give Phakathi a 12:39 margin of victory.
The cruising class was having a magnificent tussle offshore as the boats turned for home off Virginia Airport with Goss helming his beautiful Bellissima for the line honours in a time of 1:55:30, 2:07 ahead of Hulley skippering Mafuta.
Neville Bransby was third on Ocean Spirit and Tony Hardy fourth on Miss Maverick, the latter venturing offshore and having a great time sliding up and down the massive swells.
The second and final leg of the Sigma Series will be offshore on February 11, again hosted by PYC. The dinghy sailors take to the water for the Bar Anniversary Mug Pursuit Race this afternoon, with one and all converging on the pub to celebrate Charlie’s Bar’s 65th birthday. All welcome.