The Spar Proteas will be hoping to rewrite history, when they meet reigning World Champions Australia during a three-match Test series in October.
Netball South Africa announced a team that will travel down under for the series that will open at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena on 4 October 2025.
The last series between the SPAR Proteas and Australian Diamonds was played in 2023, also in Australia, which the hosts and it was the first stand-alone series between the two nations “Down Under” in 18 years.
“We are delighted to take on the world champions in a three-test series in Australia.
This is a crucial part of our growth as a team, allowing us to test ourselves against the best, set our standards, and work towards our goals.
We are excited to get out there and give it our all,” said SPAR Proteas Head Coach, Jenny van Dyk.
Both countries have played each other 46 times, with Australia winning all test matches played.
However, in recent years, the Spar Proteas have narrowed the score line against the world number one team and proven a challenge to the world champs.
This is largely credited to Norma Plummer, who took over as coach of the SPAR Proteas in 2015-2019 and again in 2022-2023
The most notable efforts by South Africa were at the Quad Series in London 2018 where The Diamonds narrowly beat the SPAR Proteas 54-50 and the devastating loss by South Africa to Australia in the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Liverpool which Australia won 55-53 in the dying minutes of the game.
Origin Australian Diamonds Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich said she’s looking forward to the Test series matches.
“The series against South Africa is a key part of our preparation as we build toward major campaigns like the Constellation Cup and, looking ahead, the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and 2027 netball World Cup in Sydney.
Every match counts and we’re excited to start that journey against the SPAR Proteas in Bendigo,” said Marinkovich.
