South Africa’s hopes of finishing in the top four came to an end on Thursday after a 58-54 defeat to England in the 5th-8th place classification match. Despite a determined performance, the Proteas were unable to overturn England’s advantage and will now battle for fifth place.
The result came after South Africa concluded the group stages with a defeat to defending champions Australia, but the Proteas had already shown their quality earlier in the tournament with victories over Malawi, Tonga and Northern Ireland to secure a place in the knockout stages.
Attention now turns to Uganda in what promises to be another competitive encounter between two of Africa’s top-ranked netball nations. With fifth place on the line, both teams will be looking to finish their Commonwealth Games campaigns with a victory.
The Proteas will be aiming to bounce back from Thursday’s disappointment by delivering a composed performance and ending the tournament on a positive note. Having competed against some of the world’s strongest teams throughout the week, South Africa has another opportunity to demonstrate its progress on the international stage.
Supporters will be hoping the Proteas can finish strongly and close out their Glasgow campaign with a win when they face Uganda later this afternoon