The Spar Proteas are packing their bags for a tour that will pit them against New Zealand and Australia, the two most fearsome forces in world netball. It’s a journey into the lion’s den, but one head coach Jenny van Dyk believes will sharpen her side’s claws for the battles to come.
Monday’s squad announcement came with a mix of fresh promise and seasoned steel. Injuries and unavailability of most notably Boitumelo Mahloko sidelined and Syntiche Kabuya out of contention. This has opened the door for three rising stars to step onto the international stage.
Enter Entle Futshane, Nozipho Ntshangase, and Juanita van Tonder, a trio of uncompromising defenders who made their presence felt in the Telkom Netball League (TNL) this season. They’ll add youthful fire to a backline that’s had to make do without the irreplaceable Karla Pretorius, still absent from selection.
But there’s a welcome return too: Shadine van der Merwe, a defensive general fresh from the bruising arenas of England’s Netball Super League, will once again wear the green and gold.
Leading the charge from the middle of the court will be captain Khanyisa Chawane, a player whose quicksilver hands and relentless energy can turn the tide in an instant. She’ll be joined by the electric Kamogelo Maseko, the TNL’s Player of the Tournament Tarle Mathe, and the Netball Super League’s top scorer Rolene Streutker — a trio capable of lighting up the scoreboard at will.
For Van Dyk, the recent Johannesburg trials were not about last-minute surprises but fine-tuning the machine.
This step was needed to give players a fair opportunity to compete for a position in the team, but also because the majority of our core group players play in the UK and other national leagues, so we needed to see all the identified players in combination with the top players before making the final decision.
And the criteria for selection? Crystal clear.
If you are going to take on the best in the world, you need players with experience, grit and a fierce, fighting spirit, and we believe within our core group that is exactly what we have.
Still, the coach admits the Proteas’ master plan is far from complete. With the Commonwealth Games looming in 2026 and the Netball World Cup in 2027, she sees this tour as one vital step in a much longer climb.
For this tour we are well aware of the fact that we don't have the exact depth we've envisioned in one or two key positions yet, but we have very versatile players within our core group that can get the job done for this tour, and we have a plan in place to create the depth we need afterwards.
Assistant coach Zanele Mdodana sees the upcoming fixtures as both a proving ground and a measuring stick.
We are going to go full force into these test matches with the objective of really sharpening ourselves, also gauging where we are compared to the professional teams in the world, and we know that the players are fully aware as to what our objectives are and how we're going to go about achieving them.
She’s under no illusions about the road ahead.
There's the Commonwealth Games next year, there's the World Cup in 2027, and everything that we're doing is aligning to ultimately assist us in achieving our objectives.
The schedule reads like a world tour of netball’s fiercest arenas: three clashes with the Silver Ferns in Auckland (21 September), Napier (24 September) and Invercargill (28 September), followed by three encounters with the Australian Diamonds in Bendigo (4 October), Wollongong (8 October) and Adelaide (12 October).
The Proteas have recent history to draw upon that includes a bruising loss to Australia in early 2023, but also that unforgettable 48–48 draw against New Zealand at last year’s Cape Town World Cup, when the home crowd roared them to parity against the reigning champions.
Van Dyk knows the odds, but she’s not tempering ambition.
We always, and we will always, go for the win even though we know that we're taking on the best in the world. If the standard is where it's supposed to be, then anything is possible.
And with a blend of hard-won experience, fearless debutants, and an unyielding spirit, the Spar Proteas are ready to find out just how possible “anything” might be.
