Netball Proteas secure epic last-gasp draw against Kiwis

Cape Town — With seconds remaining, Spar Proteas goal attacker Nichole Taljaard found space in the shooting circle and put the ball in the net to earn a thrilling 48-48 World Cup second preliminary round draw against New Zealand in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night.

SA pushed the Silver Ferns every inch of an encounter played in an electric atmosphere at Cape Town International Convention Centre.

New Zealand are among the tournament favourites.

The Netball Proteas went into the match having to win at all costs but the draw leaves the door slightly open, according to the tournament’s complicated permutations.

Backed by the vociferous near-capacity crowd, the Proteas stayed in the game for the first three-quarters, which ended with New Zealand leading by slender one, five and four-point leads.

South Africa did not want to go away and fought gallantly in the final quarter, finding their found the top gears as they outscored New Zealand 14-10.

Jamaica and New Zealand, remain the top two teams in group G, but South Africa may sneak in if they beat Uganda by a huge margin on Thursday to improve their goal difference, while hoping the Silver Ferns lose to tough Jamaica.

Proteas coach Norma Plummer started with the goal attack and shooter combination of Taljaard and Ine-Marí Venter, who had finished strongly in the loss to Jamaica on Sunday.

The exhilarating first quarter ended with a point separating the teams with the Silver Ferns leading 11-10, but South Africa could have been ahead if it was not for poor finishing by Venter.

In the closing stages of the second quarter, Plummer introduced Elmeré van der Berg to replace Venter, who was unusually sloppy in the goal circle to let New Zealand off the hook.

New Zealand pulled away as they increased their lead to five points in the second quarter, but South Africa turned the tables in the final quarter to force the match into a lively draw.

In Wednesday’s other key match Jamaica strolled to a comfortable 89-26 win over Trinidad & Tobago to have a foot in the semifinals.

In the morning session, Uganda claimed a comfortable 73-56 victory over Wales while Zimbabwe had little difficulty dispatching modest Singapore 68-40.

“It’s good because that’s what we wanted,” Uganda coach Fred Mugerwa said.

“We didn’t want to lose a game to Wales because it would spoil our ranking. We just wanted to have that game so we remain where we are.”

South Africa vs New Zealand

1st Quarter: South Africa 10-11 New Zealand

2nd Quarter: South Africa 21-26 New Zealand

3rd Quarter: South Africa 34-38 New Zealand

4th Quarter: South Africa 48-48 New Zealand