South Africa bounced back on Sunday to claim a share of the points after a thrilling encounter with England in the second leg of the Netball Quad Series tournament in Cape Town.
After being beaten 61-41 by world champions New Zealand in their opening match the previous day, the Proteas took on the Roses, showing some real grit to wrap up a rare 46-46 draw.
The SA team managed to take early control but England soon showed their class, taking the lead after three minutes and quickly going clear.
When the English team looked like they were ready to run, but the Proteas managed to pull it back and at the end of the first quarter they were back in front (13-12).
Doing well to put pressure on their opponents, South Africa were outplayed in the second quarter but did enough to hold on, going into the half-time break level at 23-23.
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And with the support of the home crowd, they were able to open a gap in the third quarter to take a 36-33 lead into the final quarter.
Trading blows for the final 15 minutes, the two sides were neck and neck, and despite having chances to secure a groundbreaking victory, the hosts eventually settled for a point.
captain ‘proud’
In the build-up to the Netball World Cup in Cape Town later this year, Proteas captain Bongi Msomi said he was excited to see his team fight and compete against one of the top teams in the world.
“I’m proud of the girls. We know yesterday we didn’t play our best netball, and we still have a long way to go, but this is a big step for us,” said Msomi, who was named Player-of-the-Match.
“I think we’re an honest side, so we went back yesterday and looked at ourselves and could perform on the pitch, instead of just saying we’re going to do it.”
South Africa are back in action on Tuesday (18:00) when they face global giants Australia in the final match of the quarter-finals of the Quad Series competition.