Netballers need to raise their game after defeats

THE PROTEAS netball team will have to make a serious step-up when they face an on-fire England Roses team in their Quad Series match in Melbourne tomorrow.

The South Africans have suffered two heavy defeats against Australia and New Zealand over the past week.

They lost by 17 points to the Australian Diamonds last Saturday before a 24-goal defeat to New Zealand on Tuesday.

The Roses have been the top team this year, first claiming a one-point victory over world champions Australia to claim the Commonwealth Games title earlier this year. They then claimed a 52-39 victory over the Silver Ferns in Auckland over the weekend.

The Australians beat the English 52-47 on Wednesday.

South Africa has been battling to reclaim the form that saw them beat the Roses for their maiden Quad Series victory in Invercargill last September.

South Africa’s fortunes seemed to take a turn for the worse ahead of the Commonwealth Games where they suffered injury losses to key personnel.

They lost their opening two matches against eventual bronze medallists Jamaica (57-46) and Australia (60-38), and finished the tournament in fifth place.

Netball SA (NSA) chief executive Blanche de la Guerre said the Proteas’ defeats proved the country needed a strong local effort to improve the general quality of the game.

“We need a strong Premier League competition to elevate all players to a similar level to our national team.”

South African will be looking to make some serious strides forward ahead of the Netball World Cup in Liverpool less than a year away. Ranked fifth in the world, the Proteas will face Jamaica (fourth), Trinidad and Tobago, and Fiji in Group C at next year’s global showpiece from July 12 to 21.