Jaguars pick up lessons from trip

TSHINA Mudau described the Gauteng Jaguars five-day trip to New Zealand as “an experience of a lifetime”. The 23-year-old and her teammates went to New Zealand to take part in the Super Club Championship as a prize for winning the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League.

“The trip was amazing. It was an experience of a lifetime. We learnt new skills,” said the vice-captain of the Jaguars.

The inaugural tournament consisted of three top New Zealand teams – Southern Steel, Northern Mystics and Central Pulse, Celtic Flames from Wales, NSW Institute of Sport of Australia, Fiji’s Marama Vou and The University of Trinidad and Tobago and the Jaguars. The Jaguars finished seventh out of the eight teams.

Mudau, who won Player of the Match against Marama Vou, said netball in New Zealand is very different from South Africa.

“The level of stamina and skill is drastically different. We are a bit slower and lacking in skill. They are fast and strong,” said Mudau.

“I’ve also realised that New Zealand and Australia have a similar style of netball,” she added.

Meanwhile, The SPAR Baby Proteas’ dreams of reaching the semi-finals of the Netball World Youth Cup were thwarted yesterday when they came up against defending champions, New Zealand, at the Campus Indoor Sports Arena in Gaborone. The dominant Silver Ferns beat the South African Under-21s 69-32.

The Silver Ferns dominated from the start and enjoyed a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

South Africa looked more settled in the second quarter, which was their best. They scored 11 goals to 16 and managed to turn the ball over several times.

At half-time, the Silver Ferns were ahead 36-20 and they continued their dominance for the rest of the match.

The Baby Proteas fought hard but made a number of mistakes, including resorting to long, looping passes that the Kiwis were able to intercept with ease. They scored just six goals in each of the last two quarters, while New Zealand replied with 16 and 18 to cruise to a comfortable victory over the inexperienced South Africans.