Proteas coach on national team’s depth

van Dyk dropped six players when she announced her final team for the Games set to take place from 23 July to 2 August. 

The Proteas are in Pool A with England, Malawi, Uganda, Australia, Tonga, and Northern Ireland, and with the Africa Cup of Nations set to be played later this year, she insists that the depth in the selection pool would allow the players to rest and give others a chance throughout the year.

"We had a team meeting on Monday discussing the period we are moving into now, where we don't just have seven players and twelve players that will do the job for us. We want to create the depth we need so that we can use different players in different competitions seeing that the season is getting quite hectic especially with some players playing overseas. For the Africa Cup, we have a very different plan in mind and we have already set out a squad for that."

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The most successful club coach in the history of South African netball, explained her selection of the final 12 players and what she was looking for in the team that will be captained by centre Khanyisa Chawane.

"For us, position wise, it's about being able to come up with something different when we have trouble on court. We have players in each position that can offer us something totally different."

The multiple Telkom Netball winning coach with the Jaguars says that she is building a team that is capable of winning the title, and is optimistic that her young team will grow and be competitive.

van Dyk, who replaced veteran Australian coach Norma Plummer after the 2023 Netball World Cup on home soil, says that she will take advantage of former Proteas skipper Bongiwe Msomi’s involvement with team SA to motivate the players. 

Msomi was announced as Team SA’s chef de mission for the Games.