Shane Labuschagne looks ahead to the Spar Challenge against Australia

South Africa  will host the Kelpies at Ellis Park, Johannesburg in a three-match

test series commencing this afternoon and ends on Sunday, 1 February.

Speaking to SABC Sport,  Labuschagne says it is an important exercise to test themselves against a top opponent.

“It is another career highlight for me, to compete against a top opponent such as Australia. I'm looking forward to seeing how we will match up against them. We always respect our opponents, and we know they are on an unbeaten run and we are too - so it's going to be very interesting. But the aim is to make sure we start on a high and get positive results,” said Labuschagne.

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The South African men’s team is fresh from winning the Africa Cup in Lilongwe in December. 

And  Labuschagne believes that the Africa Cup experience and playing at home gives them an upper hand.

“I definitely think we have an advantage when it comes to the home crowd and momentum after winning the Africa Cup again. But we all know that this is going to be a very different ball game,” added Labuschagne. 

The 24-year-old shares what he thinks should be done to promote the sport amongst young boys across the continent.

“We should get more sponsor partners for men's netball and tournaments where young boys can start playing netball. We also need to introduce the sport in schools across the continent,” he expressed.