Netball World Cup 2019: Spar Proteas survive late onslaught to stun Jamaica

The Spar Proteas survived a Jamaican fightback to upset the second-ranked side in the world with a 55-52 scoreline in their Vitality 2019 Netball World Cup encounter on Sunday afternoon.

Read: Spar Proteas claim win in opening World Cup match

South Africa came into the tie having notched up two wins in their opening two matches. They opened their world cup campaign with an emphatic 76-45 win over Trinidad and Toabgo, before thrashing Fiji 90-35 in their second encounter.

Norma Plummer’s charges were always going to be kept on their toes against the islanders and came out strongly in the first quarter, spearheaded by Lenize Potgieter’s shooting which saw her sink 10 out of 10 shots in the first quarter to help the Proteas to a 16-9 lead after 15 minutes.

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Jamaica proved just why they are ranked three places above their African counterparts, and showed significant improvement in the second quarter, but South Africa remained resolute and stretched their lead by another four goals as they netted another 16 points, to take an unassailable 32-21 into the half-time break.

At the start of the second period, Plummer made a few changes though she kept the bulk of the squad on the court. That however proved to be a little costly for South Africa as Jamaica took advantage of the tiring Africans by fighting their way back into the match to win the third quarter 17-10.

The islanders started the final quarter just four points behind the Proteas, and pushed on for more possession.

With just five minutes to go, Proteas inspirational skipper and centre Bongi Msomi was introduced back onto the court which saw the team’s momentum shift once again as South Africa held on for a historic win over Jamaica, registering just their third win in 13 encounters against the islanders.

The other three African countries also won their respective matches. Malawi ousted Barbados 65-41, Uganda beat Scotland 52-43, while Zimbabwe caused another major upset, narrowly beating Northern Ireland 51-49.

South Africa take on Scotland on Monday afternoon.