A remarkable defensive display from South Africa saw them claim a shock 39-37 victory over England to lift the trophy in the Tri-Series final. Buoyed on by a passionate and noisy home support, the Proteas were able to see the game out with never faltering composure as England fell short in their attempts to remain unbeaten in 2013.
At the final whistle the Proteas players fell to their knees as the sheer enormity of their performance began to sink and in reality, the hosts were deserving winners on the day. A high basic error count mixed with the brilliant performances from Adele Niemand and Karla Mostert saw England fall agonisingly short.
In an early sign of things to come, the first four goals of the game came against the centre-pass. The first breakthrough came to England as Serena Guthrie was able to claim a wonderful intercept and start a play which resulted in Kadeen Corbin scoring.
A Mostert intercept gave the hosts a chance to get back onto centre-pass and following a pair of turnovers, Maryka Holtzhausen duly netted. An even opening quarter was just nudged by England as Cookey fabulously read a pass into mid-court to make a tip into Jade Clarke’s waiting hands. The England captain rolled the ball in from close range to make the lead 10-8.
Once again Mostert started the quarter in fine form with an excellent steal from under Corbin’s nose; she was matched at the other end of the court as Eboni Beckford-Chambers leapt in for an intercept and drew the contact from Chrisna Bootha. The action remained tight with the teams matching each other in the scoring for much of the quarter.
In the final third, England were struggling to break through a physical and well drilled South Africa backline. With options at a premium Stacey Francis attempted a long feed which flew long to allow Bootha to convert a turnover from the next play. Back on centre-pass the Proteas were able to bring the ball quickly through court to cut the deficit to one, 19-18 at half-time.
At the interval Anna Mayes chose to make a tactical change with Corbin and Cookey swapping bibs in the shooting circle and Sara Bayman coming on at WD. An early intercept from Francis had England take some early momentum in the half and move the visitors into a four goal lead.
A flurry of chances to extend the lead came and went as the hosts made sure they remained in the match and England failed to silence the animated home fans. A breakdown around the shooting circle gave possession to South Africa and doubled up with a fantastic Niemand intercept the hosts manage to swing the game completely around in the closing stages of the quarter to take a 31-30 lead.
There were no changes for England at the start of the final quarter. The energy remained high but a lack of composure was starting to upset the rhythm of the visitors’ play. This was credit to the Proteas who were hustling across the court and closing down passing options, forcing their opponents to recycle the play with increasing regularity.
The frustration continued midway through the quarter with Cookey visibly annoyed by a contact call. Bootha and Holtzhausen continued to keep South Africa ahead while England started to see their attempts on goal rattle out.
A medical time-out allowed Mayes to bring Rachel Dunn on for Corbin but fortune remained with the hosts as the struggle to penetrate the sparkling South Africa defence continued. England pushed hard in the final minutes but were unable to close the gap as the crowd exploded with raw emotion as the umpires signalled the end of the game.
South Africa starting 7: GS - Bootha, GA - Holtzhausen, WA - Lombard, C - Msomi, WD - Mdodana, GD - Mostert, GK - Niemand
On the bench: Viljoen, Mdaka, Myburgh, Mthembu
England starting 7: GS – K.Corbin, GA - Cookey, WA - S.Corbin, C - Guthrie, WD - Clarke, GD - Francis, GK - Beckford-Chambers
On the bench: Bayman, Guscoth, Dunn, Allison, Ritchie
Umpires: Joel Young-Strong and Jono Bredin
