Cape Town stun Tshwane to win first national netball title by a single goal

The victory was extra special for the hosts, who lifted the trophy in front of a packed home crowd after years of building towards this moment. 

The Western Cape last won the championship in 2016, when current assistant coach and Proteas legend Phumza Maweni was still a player.

Under the new Cape Town identity, however, this is the team’s first national title, and doing it on home soil made the achievement even sweeter.

Head coach Dr Freda Kemp told SABC Sport that years of planning, hard work, and promoting the game in the province had finally paid off. 

"Over the last three years we have e been working hard at getting financial support for netball, and I said to my team as well as the federation that we need to start wining in order to be able to attract sponsorships. Apart from developing players this has always been in the back of my mind."

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Kemp has been with the team for three years and experienced heartbreak in last year’s final, when Cape Town lost to Johannesburg by a single goal in Gauteng.

This time, the script was reversed. 

Assistant coach Phumza Maweni admitted it was a nerve-racking experience on the bench as the final went right down to the wire and nearly forced extra time.

The former Proteas star praised the players for showing composure under pressure and thanked the Cape Town community for the incredible support throughout the tournament.

"It was difficult being on the bench. I felt like if I could just get takkies I'll show up, but I trusted the girls and they delivered exactly what we asked them to."