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Netball South Africa (NSA) president Cecilia Molokwane has confirmed the Proteas will attend a special training camp in Australia next month.
Although the trip Down Under is expensive, Molokwane is confident that it will bear fruit.
“The trip to Australia will cost the NSA an arm and a leg. The Proteas will go to Australia for a month for a training camp and play in a tournament against the local teams. It is a special request from Coach Norma Plummer. She promised the players an intense netball training camp there.
We identified four players not part of the original Proteas squad to accompany us to get the much-needed experience, but it would incur more costs not part of the original budget. The trip will cost us lots of money, but it’s worth it,” said Molokwane.
The Proteas finished bottom of the recently concluded Quad Series at the Cape Town International Convention Centre without a win.
They played out to a thrilling 46-all draw against England. Five months before the World Cup, the performance in the Quad Series has divided public opinion.
The 77-year-old Australian-born coach joined the Proteas as a consultant four months ago and took over from the sacked Dorrette Badenhorst in December last year.
“The coach had no mandate for the Quad Series because she recently joined the team as a head coach a month ago. We want her to build a team that will not embarrass the country in the World Cup.
What we asked of her is not to embarrass the country at the World Cup. She has no mandate for the World Cup,” explained Molokwane.
Molokwane appealed to South Africans not to panic and to continue supporting the Proteas as the World Cup draws closer.
“The Quad series was an eye-opener. There is a big difference between playing the African teams and shining on the continent and playing against the best netball countries in the world, Australia, New Zealand, and England.
No disrespect to the African countries, but the standard of netball against the top three countries are on another level. We are waiting for the coach to give us a report regarding her challenges from the Quad series.
The challenges should go hand in hand with the solutions. People must not panic and should remain positive. Positive energy brings positive results. Do not judge the team’s chances of advancing to the World Cup based on what happened in the Quad series. This team has an element of surprise,” added Molokwane.
Eight Proteas players will travel to Europe in March while four contracted players will remain in South Africa.
By Charles Baloyi
