Plummer’s Proteas are getting better
DURBAN: Defending champions South Africa got off to the best possible start in the netball Diamond Challenge at the University of Durban-Westville on Sunday, with an emphatic 70-35 trouncing of Zimbabwe.
The Proteas were in control throughout the game, despite some spirited play by Zimbabwe. They were 20-7 ahead after the first quarter, and led 37-20 at halftime.
Zimbabwe had their best results in the third quarter, which South Africa won by only three goals, but the Zimbabweans’ lack of international experience was obvious.
The SA defence was outstanding, with Phumza Maweni and Karla Mostert making life hard for the Zimbabweans in their circle. Maweni achieved some outrageous intercepts and earned the player-of-thematch award for her efforts.
Coach Norma Plummer rang the changes, using all members of the squad, apart from Vanes-Mari du Toit, who had a slight injury. She tried a number of combinations and played some of the team out of their usual positions. One of these was goal shooter Lenize Potgieter, who played goal attack in the last quarter, and seemed to relish the greater freedom of movement.
“I have told them they all need to be able to play in at least two positions, so that we have greater flexibility. We don’t want to be one-dimensional,” said Plummer.
Plummer was happy with the Proteas’ performance, although there were still areas where they needed to improve.
“They still need to let the ball go quicker, and they missed some sitters, but they are getting better all the time,” she said. Plummer said Zimbabwe suffered from a lack of international exposure, but she thought they would get better as the tournament continued.
“They have some very good players and it is just lack of experience,” she said.
Earlier, the President’s XII beat Uganda 55-50. The South Africans started off well, and were three up before Uganda scored their first goal, but the East African team drew level midway through the quarter, forcing SA to up their game.
The President’s XII led 16-13 after the first quarter, and at one stage were eight goals ahead. The She-Cranes pulled things back with a volley of unanswered goals, but were still five goals behind at halftime. (29-24)
It was in the final quarter that the Ugandans came back strongly, and at one stage they were only one goal behind. They won the quarter by 15 goals to 13, but it was too little, too late.
Their goal attack and captain, Irene Erayu, was outstanding, achieving some brilliant intercepts and shooting accurately. At the other end of the court, Lindie Lombard, who was named player of the match, also had a very good game and goal shooter IneMarie Venter grew in confidence throughout the match, shooting from the edge of the circle and making good use of the ball when it was in her circle. Although the She-Cranes threatened, the President’s XII stood firm, and finished the match with a five goal victory.