SA's netballers aiming high

2005-10-07 21:27

Annchen Nel

Cape Town - The South African netball team will meat their New Zealand counterparts as early as in the third match at the Commonwealth Games next year.

National coach Marlene Wagner said she would have preferred the encounter with the Silver Ferns to have taken place later.

However, the fixtures are made on how the teams ended in the previous Games and South Africa finished fifth in 2002 Manchester, England.

A total of 12 countries will take part in the tournament in Melbourne from March 17. South Africa is in the same group as world champion New Zealand, England, Fiji, Malawi and St Vincent and Grenadines.

Australia, the current world champion, will in its group have to compete with Jamaica, Samoa, Barbados, Wales and a qualifier from Asia.

The Proteas will start their campaign with a match against Malawi, followed by St Vincent, New Zealand, Fiji and England.

The semi-finals will be played on March 25 and the final the following day.

South Africa will start its preparations for the tournament at the end of next month with a home series of three tests against England.

The 25 players making up the A and B groups will meet in Pretoria on October 29 for trials and a practice camp. Twelve players and 3 reserves will be selected to play against England, Wagner said. The tests will be played on November 23 in Gauteng, November 26 in Bellville and November 29 in Port Elizabeth.

The Proteas won and lost an away series against England last year by 3-0.

- Die Burger