CONSISTENCY will be key in the Spar Proteas’ games at the upcoming Sanzea Quad Series.
Although the Proteas showed improvement in the first quad series against England, Australia and New Zealand last September, they have lost focus which saw South Africa lagging behind.
Norma Plummer’s charges hope to do better when they welcome the Roses, Diamonds and Silver Ferns to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre from 28-31 January.
Proteas goalkeeper Zanele Vimbela said they aimed to improve on last year’s performance in the series.
Said Vimbela: “In some matches we were leading at half-time but ended up losing shape and focus in the last two quarters. We need to hang on to our lead and be consistent. We have to stay focused.
“The team taking to the court for the second half shouldn’t perform any differently to the team that started out the game. We should work on closing any gap in the scoreline when we are behind.”
South Africa will face England in their opening match of the tournament on Saturday (5pm) and will hope to do better than their draw against the Roses in the first series.
The world’s top two netball powerhouses, Australia and New Zealand, will do battle in the first match of the tournament (3pm).
The Proteas will also be hoping that home ground advantage counts in their favour and help them stamp their authority on the four-nation series. It has worked well for them in Diamond Challenge tournaments in recent years.
“We don’t want to take a step backward. It is always good to have home ground advantage. We can make our country proud by putting in a great performance,” Vimbela said.
She said Australian mentor Plummer was happy with how the team had progressed but was expecting them to do better in this series.
“She is enthusiastic, excited and wants us to improve on last year,” Vimbela added.
