Gcina Panyana encourages Team SA to bounce back after Canada defeat

Canada dominated proceedings from the outset to lay down an early marker in Glasgow on Friday.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Panyana says she wants her players to regain their confidence and play with freedom in the matches ahead.

“Considering where we are as a team and the fact that we were playing against the world champions, I think we performed better than we expected. However, we still lacked courage and confidence because it is a big stage and we were facing a top opponent. There’s honestly nothing to lose. The players should go out there, play their hearts out and get out of the box,” said Panyana.

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Panyana admits they anticipated a difficult encounter against the defending champions but believes the defeat served as an important wake-up call ahead of their remaining group fixtures.

“Personally, as a coach, I don’t think my team performed to their strengths. As I said, they need to play with the freedom and heart that allows them to express their skills. Yes, we expected a tough clash against the defending champions, but my assessment of the game is that we got the wake-up call we needed ahead of the next two fixtures, and I believe we will perform much better,” added Panyana.

South Africa now turns its attention to matches against England and Australia. Panyana says sticking to the fundamentals and trusting the team’s preparation will be crucial against the two high ranked opponents.

“Looking at today’s match, the three points we scored came from executing our original game plan. For me, sticking to the game plan, playing to our strengths and applying what we have learnt during training will be key against both England and Australia,” she expressed.