South Africa has reaffirmed its dominance on the African netball stage, with both the Proteas women and men successfully defending their titles at the Africa Netball Cup in Lilongwe, Malawi, over the weekend.
The Proteas women claimed a convincing 56–34 victory over Uganda in a repeat of last year’s final, while the men defeated Zimbabwe 40–29 to retain their crown.
Ranked fifth in the world, the South African women went into the final as favourites against sixth-ranked Uganda, although the encounter was expected to be closely contested. Instead, the Proteas delivered a dominant performance from the opening whistle.
South Africa led 27–16 at half-time and continued to control proceedings in the second half. Although Uganda, known as the She-Cranes, showed improvement after the break, they struggled without the presence of their star goal shooter, Mary Nuba.
The Proteas eventually sealed a 56–34 win, securing their record fifth African championship title.
Proteas Women’s Head Coach Jenny van Dyk praised the opposition after the match.
“Uganda will make you work on that netball court; we knew we needed to come in very strong. We knew the game would be won in the circle, so we had to study how they do things, especially with Mary not being here. They did a great job considering that fact and made us work extremely hard. Thank you, Uganda, for a good match, and well done to Team South Africa,” said Van Dyk.
Earlier in the day, the Proteas men also delivered a solid performance, beating neighbours Zimbabwe 40–29 to successfully defend their title. It marked South Africa’s third men’s Africa Netball Cup championship.
Attention now turns to the international stage for the women’s team, who will host England’s Roses in a three-match test series in Johannesburg early next year.
The first test is scheduled for 29 January.