WeeklySA_AdminSTAGE SET: Africa’s first-ever Netball World Cup gets under way in Cape Town
By Sports Reporter
There were wins for hosts South Africa and Jamaica on Friday evening as the Netball World Cup 2023 gathered momentum at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre. The SPAR Proteas (South Africa) saw off Wales 61-50, while Jamaica were too strong for Sri Lanka, winning 105-25.
Other results on the opening day were:
Australia 86-30 Zimbabwe
Uganda 79-37 Singapore
New Zealand 76-27 Trinidad & Tobago
Tonga 56-51 Fiji
In front of a rowdy and capacity CTICC, the Proteas outclassed the Welsh with a 61-50 win. Proteas head coach Norma Plummer was pleased with her side’s performance, particularly the opening quarter.
Plummer hailed Ine-Mari Venter, who deservedly earned player of the match, as she led from the front with her goal shooting, 43 goals in 47 attempts.
“She (Venter) was outstanding, thank God she was shooting well. It was a win, but it’s not what I call a convincing win over Wales,” Plummer told reporters on Friday.
“The first quarter was sensational, we got off to a great start, we’ve been slow in that area. But we always knew Wales was going to come back and change up their game.
“I thought we handled it fairly well, they went up another notch in the third. Then we started to spray a few balls, that was disappointing, we went too wide.
“We get a lot of information that we need to work on… But I’m very proud of what they produced tonight and we were able to put Jeante on at wing defence. Overall, I was pretty pleased.
“Nicola Smith coming onto goal defence and giving Karla a break, we’ve got a long tournament. It wasn’t a bad performance.”
The Proteas take on Sri Lanka in their second Pool C encounter against Sri Lanka at 16:00 on Saturday.
Proteas skipper Bongi Msomi says that the Proteas need to be consistent as they face a side thrashed 105-25 by Jamaica.
“There was a few times we will set up a full press on their defence and we probably needed to punch through a bit quicker and try to let the ball go,” said Msomi.
“I really think we had a crack and gave some good performances, which I’m really proud of.
“We worked on certain things that I could see tonight coming through in patches. I think consistency will actually be very important going forward. “It’s great to start such a tournament with a win, we’ll take this one.”
World number one Australia completely outplayed Zimbabwe in their first match at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town, beating their African counterparts 86-30. This was just the second World Cup meeting between the two countries. Australia won the only other encounter 73-37 four years ago in Liverpool.
THE NWC IN A SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
By Sports Reporter
WHAT IS IT?
The Netball World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport with international bragging rights – and gold medal glory – at stake. The tournament features a pool stage, preliminaries and then placing and playoff matches across a 10-day period.
WHEN IS THE NWC?
The tournament begins on Friday, July 28 and through until until Sunday, August 6
WHERE IS THE EVENT TAKING PLACE?
The 2023 tournament is being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. It’s the first time a Netball World Cup is hosted in South Africa.
WHO ARE THE COMPETING NATIONS?
There will be 16 participating teams in the four-group tournament, with hosts South Africa pooled in Group C.
Pool A: Australia, Tonga, Zimbabwe, Fiji
Pool B: England, Malawi, Scotland, Barbados
Pool C: Jamaica, South Africa, Wales, Sri Lanka
Pool D: New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad & Tobago, Singapore
THE PROTEAS’ NETBALL WORLD CUP GAME TIMES:
Game 1: vs Wales on Friday, 28 July at 6pm
Game 2: vs Sri Lanka on Saturday, 29 July at 4pm
Game 3: vs Jamaica on Sunday, 30 July at 6pm
HOW TO WATCH THE TOURNAMENT:
The matches, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, will be shown live on SABC and SuperSport.
SPAR PROTEAS FULL SQUAD:
Bongiwe Msomi (capt), Karla Pretorius, Khanyisa Chawane, Izette Griesel, Phumza Maweni, Lenize Potgieter, Nicola Smith, Jeante Strydom, Nichole Taljaard, Elmere van der Berg, Shadine van der Merwe, Ine-Mari Venter.
Reserves: Owethu Ngubane, Refiloe Nketsa, Lefebre Rademan.
Sports:
Briefs
VICTORY CRUCIAL FOR BOKS
Springbok captain Duane Vermeulen and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick stressed the importance of closing off the home leg of their 2023 season on a high note before the team enters their Rugby World Cup warm-up games and said a victory would be special for many reasons.
The match – which kicks off at Emirates Airline Park at 5:05pm CAT (SA, GMT+2) on Saturday – will not only mark the team’s last game on local soil this season, it will also be Jacques Nienaber and assistant coach Felix Jones’ last home game as Springbok coaches and possibly Vermeulen’s last dance in the green and gold jersey in South Africa.
Nienaber and Jones will join Leinster and England respectively after the World Cup, while Vermeulen may decide to hang up his boots following the global spectacle. “As a team we spoke about the fact that it’s probably my last game in the jersey in SA and it will also be the last for two of our coaches,” said Vermeulen.
BUCS CAF OPPONENTS ANNOUNCED
Orlando Pirates will mark their return to the CAF Champions League with a clash against Djabal Club from the Comoros when the 2023/24 edition of the competition kicks off next month.
The Buccaneers qualified for Africa’s most prestigious club competition when they finished second in the DStv Premiership, and will be making their first appearance in the tournament in featuring in the 2019/20 campaign.
In a draw held in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday, the Soweto Giants were drawn against the Iconi-based outfit in the first preliminary round, with the two sides set to square off for the second time in history.
Djabal are the reigning champions of the Comoros Premier League, having recently clinched their second league title.
SIYA SUPRISE QUICK MEND
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick did little to hide his admiration for Siya Kolisi’s resilience as he issued a very positive update on the regular national skipper’s fitness on Friday.
The decorated 32-year-old flanker, whose recovery from a serious knee injury sustained during the Sharks’ URC campaign has been a talking point for months, gave his Bok teammates the galvanising sight of participating in Friday’s captain’s run at Ellis Park ahead of this weekend’s Rugby Championship climax against Argentina.
While Stick attempted to keep the timeframe for Kolisi’s return realistic – team management has previously stated they would have no problem letting him go into the showpiece tournament without any game-time behind him – he also struggled to contain his enthusiasm.
“The thing is, with Siya’s rehab and the way he’s getting back into the swing of things, I’m continually surprised,” he said at the team’s base in Hyde Park on Friday.
ARSENE WENGER IMMORTALIZED
A bronze statue of former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lifting the Premier League trophy has been unveiled outside the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger won three top-flight titles and the FA Cup on seven occasions while in charge of the Gunners between October 1996 and May 2018.
The Frenchman managed 1,235 matches during his time in north London and helped the club go unbeaten in the league during their 2004 title success.
Arsenal also spent 20 successive seasons in the Champions League under Wenger, including reaching the 2006 final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.
STIFF SENTENCE
A US trainer has been banned for a year and also fined more than £7,500 after one of his horses tested positive for a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction.
His horse a six-year-old gelding Satchel De Ritches was found to have tadalafil in his system. Tadalafil is often sold under the brand name Cialis among others in the States.
The other horses in Lee’s yard are suspended from running and will be transferred to other trainers. The trainer has made more than £1.1million in his career with 55 winners in all.
