The courageous Spar Proteas have finally returned home after a month filled with conflicting feelings and an all-around motivating international tour in England and Jamaica.
South Africa lost to England 61-55 on Sunday in the Netball Nations Cup final.
They were undefeated in three games leading up to the final, defeating their African rivals Malawi and Uganda and producing a historic victory over the fourth-ranked English team to set up an exciting finale.
Even though they lost the final and the series to Jamaica 3-0, the Proteas played at the highest level of netball possible against two of the world’s top five teams.
Speaking to the media when the team arrived at OR Tambo International Airport, Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane said the team exceeded her expectations and went above and beyond.
I am proud of this team
“From Netball South Africa’s side, we are very proud of the girls. We’re proud of the team management,” Molokwane said.
“The unity that I saw [in the team] amazed me, and I said we are building towards something good because I think this team is building. And I did not worry a lot about the scoreboard.”
She continued: “I want to be honest; what worried me was the performance of the team, where I must say that they made my mouth shut because the scoreboard talked a lot more than what I wanted to see.
“So, to me, I’m proud of this team because they’ve gone all out with young players who have never played Jamaica.
“Some of them have never played against England, but they managed to go out there to perform. This time around, we did not go out there just to participate but to compete and did well.”
We have enjoyed the time together
Leading the Proteas on its first international tour under her tutelage, Jenny van Dyk, who took over in February 2024, said this was one of the best tours she has ever experienced.
“This was one of the best tours I’ve ever experienced. It was such a fantastic trip with a team that was full of so much life and energy and full of so much passion,” Van Dyk said.
“It could have been a long tour for us, and it could have become a difficult tour for us, but it never was. I’ve never seen a team that was able to learn so much in the time away.
“They’ve just been so fantastic, and we’ve just enjoyed the time together. And you can see when we spend quality time like that together what we can get out of our unit.”
