Picture: The South African FAST5 women’s national team celebrating their win after beating England 33-25 in the opening match of the 2024 FAST5 Netball World Series played in Christchurch, New Zealand/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
9 November 2024- The South African FAST5 Netball teams have had a mixed start to their World Series campaign in Christchurch, New Zealand. The women’s team kicked off their campaign with a thrilling victory over England.
In a tightly contested match, South Africa secured a 33-25 win. Zandre Smit was the top scorer for South Africa, contributing 20 of their 33 goals.
In their second match, South Africa faced a dominant Australian side, losing 49-26. But they bounced back with a hard-fought 33-25 victory over Jamaica. Sanmarie Visser’s outstanding defensive performance earned her the Player of the Match award.
“It was a very long day in the final match. Really. It was really mentally tough for us, but I think we handled it so well, and everyone just gave everything they had…we were hungry for that win and yes.
“Receiving the Player of the Match award was just so amazing, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity to be part of such an amazing event and for receiving this reward. But, it was a team effort, and everyone was working so hard,” said Visser.
She further said they made it so easy for her and it was really amazing. Visser added that she is so blessed and grateful.
The women’s team’s coach Martha Mosoahle-Samm expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, highlighting their strong start against England and their ability to recover after a tough loss to Australia.
“There were three matches today, we won two and lost one. It was a good day for us, especially with the opening game against England, that gave us a lot of confidence. We slipped up a bit against Australia and it was a tough one.
“I think they came harder on us, and their ball speed was just too much, and they were just very tight on defence. But it was also a learning curve for the girls. But, we are also grateful that we ended it very well against Jamaica,” she said.
Mosoahle-Samm said they are looking forward to the following day, where they will be taking on Uganda and New Zealand. She said South Africa will face Uganda in their next match on 10 November at 2:25am.
On the other hand, the South African men’s team faced a tough challenge in their opening match, going down 42-27 to Australia. The men’s team’s coach, Neville Chapepa, attributed the team’s loss to a lack of discipline and failure to follow instructions.
“We failed to follow rules on the court and didn’t adhere to the game plan. We had a lot of errors and lost the game due to our own mistakes. We need to work on our passing, conversion, and listening to instructions.
“We stressed the importance of taking twos and ones to build momentum, but players rushed and forced threes, leading to a poor third quarter,” he said.
The South African men’s team will now turn their attention to their next match against New Zealand, scheduled for Sunday, 10 November at 03:10 AM (CAT).
Meanwhile, the South African women will face Uganda at 2:25 AM (CAT) and later compete against the host nation, New Zealand, at 4:40 AM (CAT).
The Guardian 