SA netball’s steady rise is far from over

Over the last few years, Netball South Africa has gradually developed its top-flight infrastructure, creating new platforms and opportunities for the sport to progress.

While the effort and intention was clear, however, after NSA launched the Brutal Fruit Netball League and roped in the services of world-renowned coach Norma Plummer to guide the national team, the results at the top were hardly evident.

The Proteas showed some improvement with additional time on court in the semi-professional domestic league, and their new game plan under Plummer started to take shape after she was appointed in 2015.

But the squad remained stranded in fifth place in the world rankings, failing to reach the World Cup semifinals for the fifth successive edition of the global showpiece and settling for sixth place at the Fast5 World Series.

Perhaps most frustrating to watch, however, was the lack of spark that was needed for them to put up a fight.

They would invariably start well, lose control and fade fast, and though we were told by team management they were getting better, the desire the players displayed off the court was repeatedly abandoned under pressure.

That all changed over the last week, and while they lost both matches at the home leg of the four-nation Quad Series in Durban, we saw persistent, gutsy determination from the Proteas for the first time in more than 20 years.

Every time England got on top of them, they would stick their feet in and push back, and they held the world No 3 outfit to a hard-fought draw before losing out by five points in extra time.

Against world champions Australia, they were clearly outclassed, but it did nothing to shake their resolve as they produced their best result yet against the Aussies with a 16-point defeat.

In short, they made their country proud, and before we expect top-end results, before we ask them to challenge for medals, the first thing we needed was for them to learn to punch back in a sport which involves as much elbow flinging and shoulder barging off the ball as any contact sport.

It’s going to take a long time before there is a fully professional structure in place for the Proteas squad, as Plummer admitted this week, but there is no longer any real doubt they’re on the right track.

South Africa is not the only country which has fallen behind in the professional era, and netball has taken a knock around the world. Only recently has Australia launched an entirely professional domestic setup, with the top performers earning around R1 million a year to play full-time.

It may seem a stretch to suggest South Africa can close the gap and reach the same level, but we are starting to see long-term plans reap results, and if other codes that we adopted from the British Empire can thrive in our nation’s sporting environment, there is no reason that an entertaining, fastpaced sport like netball cannot do the same.

The more game time they get, and the more time they have to spend together as a group and work with Plummer and assistant coach Nicole Cusack, the better the Proteas will play.

The more interest there is in the domestic league from fans, the more it will expand and the depth will improve.

They do have a long way to go, but the Proteas have displayed tremendous tenacity in their latest attempt to climb the global ladder. If they keep it up, their new-found prowess will be converted into victories and medals over the next few seasons.

All they really need now is your support.