SPAR Proteas opened their title defence of the Africa Netball Cup in Lilongwe, Malawi on Monday, with a 104 - 25 win against Tanzania.
Head Coach Jenny van Dyk’s charges started like a house on fire as they had the first centre pass.
Elmere van der Berg who earned her 50th cap for the SPAR Proteas was ruthless under the pole and punished Tanzanian defenders every chance she got. At the end of the first quarter, the SPAR Proteas were in the driver’s seat and enjoyed a 32-goal lead.
South Africa made tactical change at the start of the second quarter with the introduction of Rolene Streukter in the place of van der Berg. The combination of Jamie van Wyk and Nicola Smith at the back proved to be strong as they kept Tanzania attack at bay and only restricted them to 11 goals at the end of the first half.
The SPAR Proteas continued to dominate their opponents for the duration of the match and in the championship quarter, Tanzania could only six goals while conceding 23 and this took South Africa’s lead to 79 – 17.
Kyla Dames got her maiden cap for the SPAR Proteas after a successful Under-21 World Youth Cup that was hosted in Gibraltar – she couldn’t have asked for a better start to the senior team as she was also named Player of the Match.
“It was a very good first game for us, definitely the kind of match and results we expected. I am happy we were able to try out different combinations and proud of Kyla Dames on her debut and for winning player of the match. This shows that we are headed in the right direction.
"Happy with some of the combinations we tried out today even though I felt like we struggled in the third quarter to an extend – it was our most expensive one. We put this game behind us and now focus on our next encounter against Malawi. Lastly, as a team we are proud of Elmere on her 50th cap for the SPAR Proteas,” said Jenny van Dyk.
Meanwhile earlier in the day, the South Africa Male team took on neighbours Botswana in their opening match of the tournament where they won 59 -38.
On Tuesday, the South African male team will take on Zimbabwe at 2pm while the SPAR Proteas face off against hosts Malawi at 6pm.