Wrap: South Africa fall to Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia continue unbeaten run

South Africa suffered their first defeat against Jamaica while New Zealand and Australia maintain their unbeaten run in their last match of the opening round of the Netball World Cup.

Jamaica 67-49 South Africa

The Proteas suffered their first defeat of the Netball World Cup following their 67-49 loss to Jamaica in a tightly contested Pool C encounter at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The stadium was packed, but the enthusiastic crowd couldn’t help the Proteas over the line.

Jamaica were in control from the start. and led in all four quarters and had a 32-26 lead at the half.

Lenize Potgieter played in her first World Cup game with a minor injury, but she quickly showed what a good player she is.

Before halftime, Potgieter had never missed a shot and had scored 17 goals in 17 tries.

The Proteas looked more tired when they came back for the second half because they only scored three goals while Jamaica scored 18.

The Proteas made silly mistakes and missed quick shots, and they were behind 51–29 with one quarter to go.

South Africa came back, but they couldn’t stop the Caribbean team from scoring. At the end of the game, the score was 67-49.

Potgieter was the best shooter for the Proteas because she made 17 goals out of 17 tries.

Nichole Taljaard, on the other hand, made only 11 of her 14 shots, and Ine-Mar Venter made 8 of her 9 shots.

Only four of Elmeré van der Berg’s eight shots hit the mark.

Because of the loss, South Africa will finish second in Pool C, behind Jamaica, which will win the group.

Uganda 74-34 Trinidad & Tobago

The She Cranes cruised to a comfortable 74-34 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in their final Group D match.

The She Cranes finished second in Group D behind New Zealand, the only team to defeat Uganda in the ongoing South African tournament.

Mary Nuba, who replaced Christine Namulumba at the beginning of the second period, dominated the shooting circle with 35 goals, including a couple of beautiful layups.

Irene Eyaru and Shadiah Nassanga scored 18 and 17 goals, respectively, while Margaret Baagala continued to excel in the middle with 39 assists.

In the opening exchanges, Uganda appeared shaky and trailed 4-1, but later found its rhythm and assumed control.

They held a 14-11 lead after the first quarter and a 33-18 advantage at halftime.

The She Cranes were dominant in the second half, defeating Trinidad 41-16 to assert their dominance.

Afeisha Noel scored 29 goals for the Calypso Girls that evening, but it was not enough.

Uganda will face South Africa, Jamaica, and Wales in the second preliminary round, where they will be regrouped.

England 62-37 Scotland

After beating Scotland 62–37 in the first round of the Netball World Cup preliminaries, England finished on top of Pool D.

After beating Barbados and Malawi, England made a change up front in the first quarter. Olivia Tchine started at Goal Shooter for the first time in the tournament, while Helen Housby played Goal Attack and Eleanor Cardwell sat on the bench.

Scotland had most of the ball early on, but England fought back thanks to Housby and Chelsea Pitman’s movement around the court. After 15 minutes, England was ahead 14–9 in a close game.

Scotland kept playing with confidence in the second quarter, but England’s experience kept them on top. Geva Mentor and Fran Williams’ defensive work slowed down Scotland, giving England a 31-18 lead at the half.

At halftime, England made some changes. Funmi Fadoju took over as custodian, and Helen Housby was replaced by co-captain Nat Metcalf at goal attack.

With one quarter left to play, England was ahead 46-29 thanks to Fadoju’s interceptions and Tchine’s great play in the circle.

Cardwell took over at Goal Shooter for the last quarter and picked up where Tchine had left off. England took control and kept going, winning 62–37 and coming out on top of Pool D.

Malawi 84-48 Barbados

The Malawi Queens beat Barbados 84-48 on Sunday to win their second game at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town.

Malawi played in their 50th Netball World Cup game since their first one in 1995.

The tournament has been hard for Barbados, who lost their third game in a row.

Malawi took charge of the game from the first whistle, showing strategic play that made it hard for Barbados to keep up.

The Bajan Gems had difficulty finding their own attacking rhythm because of how well the Queens passed the ball and how strong their defence was.

When Thandie Galetta took over for Jane Chimaliro at wing attack to start the second quarter, the African team’s lead grew even more.

In the next 15 minutes, Barbados was under constant pressure, and Malawi’s defenders did amazing things to stop their opponents from moving forward. At halftime, Malawi had a strong lead of 43-22.

At the start of the second half, the Bajan Gems worked hard. Kadeen Corbin scored the first goal, which showed that they wanted to close the gap.

But Malawi’s experienced defenders, Towera Vinkhumbo and Jane Dambo stood strong, and when Barbados had the ball, they gave Malawi chances to score.

In the third quarter, Malawi pulled ahead with a strong attack in the middle of the court that left Barbados puzzled.

Even in the last 15 minutes, the Queens were still in charge, setting the pace and making it impossible for Barbados to come back.

New Zealand 80-19 Singapore

Defending champions New Zealand concluded Group D play with a decisive 80-19 victory over the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, Singapore.

Four years after defeating the same opponent by 68 goals at the previous Netball World Cup in Liverpool, few would have predicted anything other than another victory for the Silver Ferns on Sunday.

Despite Singapore’s speed and promising start, they were outclassed in every facet of the game, scoring only seven goals in the first quarter and two in the second as New Zealand assumed command.

By halftime, the Silver Ferns had amassed a 32-goal lead over Singapore custodian Jamie Lim on her 23rd birthday.

The inaccuracy of the Singaporeans’ goal-shooting cost them once more, with neither shooter averaging over 55 percent.

While New Zealand cruised to an easy 80-19 victory, goal shooter Grace Nweke appeared to limp off the court in the third quarter and was seen icing her knee on the sidelines, causing cause for concern.

Wales 68-56 Sri Lanka

The was a lot on the line in their final Group C encounter as both Wales and Sri Lanka were vying for their first victory of the World Cup.

Only the top three teams in each pool advanced to the second stage of the preliminary competition, and it was the Welsh Feathers who prevailed with a 68-56 victory to earn a spot.

Despite the fact that the Sri Lankans stayed within striking distance for the majority of the first quarter, the Welsh were able to take a six-goal lead into the first interval due to their excellent interceptions.

Tharjini Sivalingam, the tallest player in the tournament at 2.06m, came on as goal shooter after the main break and made all the difference, as the Sri Lankans produced their most productive quarter.

However, a 10-goal deficit at the end of the period proved impossible, and with goal shooter Georgia Rowe completing a near-perfect performance in the Wales circle by scoring 49 goals out of 50 attempts, the Feathers secured the decisive 68-56 victory.

Australia 101-32 Fiji

With 18 positions separating them in the most recent World Netball World Rankings, an emphatic victory for Australia (1) over Fiji (19) was virtually assured.

The top-ranked team in the world has yet to lose a quarter at the 2023 Netball World Cup. This was the second 100-goal score of the NWC2023, the third for Australia in all Netball World Cups, and the fifteenth in the event’s history.

Maliana Rusivakula scored the opening point for Fiji, but Cara Koenen quickly returned the favour for Australia on the other side of the court.

Fiji, coming off a stunning victory over Zimbabwe on Saturday, held on for the first five minutes of the match. However, Australia found their rhythm and began to build a healthy lead.

The Diamonds’ effortless movement resulted in attractive offensive play for which their opponents had no response.

Fiji head coach Unaisi Rokoura, who competed in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, replaced Rusivakula with Lydia Panapasa as goal shooter and goal attack respectively in the second quarter.

Josephine Nailumu (goal defence) and Ana Moi (wing defence) also took to the court to thwart the relentless Australian attack. The Australian squad did not change.

Even though possession was evenly distributed in the first half, Australia had a firm grip on the game due to its superior goal-shooting percentage. They entered halftime with a 46-18 lead.

Ash Brazill was the only player who had not yet appeared in the game when the third quarter began, and a new-look Australian squad assumed its position.

Sophie Garbin deflated Fiji’s sails by firing three shots in quick succession, followed by five more in quick succession.

Australia scored 26 points in the third quarter and 29 points in the final 15 minutes of the game, their highest output over three days of competition.