Sometimes, when you talk to athletes, you immediately get that feeling that this is a leader.

Phophi Nematangari is a good example of this.

With her inspiring play and all-pervading personality, she led the South African u.21 team to a 3-0 win over Jamaica’s youth team in a test series. She and her teammates also won the Netball World Youth Cup Qualification Tournament in Pretoria. Nematangari was named the best mid-court player of the tournament.

The Baby Proteas have now won nine consecutive matches with her as captain.

Nematangari is confident that the South African u.21 team can win a medal during the Netball World Youth Cup Tournament in Gibraltar.

When asked what she brings to the team, she answered, that her best quality is that she can step up at vital moments of a game.

“What I love about netball is how alert you should be throughout the game and the quick decisions you have to make,” she explained.

She recounts how, during one Varsity Tournament game, Tuks’ opponents were on the attack in the dying moments.

“If they had scored, we would have lost. I managed to intercept the ball. It helped us win,” she said.

After Tuks won the Varsity Tournament in 2023, Jenny van Dyk (coach) was full of praise for the way Nematangari played on defence. Intercepting vital passes seems to be second nature to her. She, however, refuses to take credit for her on-court heroics.

“My teammates are my ‘partners in crime’. I won’t be able to do what I do if they don’t pressure our opponents. My role is to watch the ball and bide my time for the right moment to ‘strike’. To intercept,” Nematangari remarked.

Captaining the Baby Proteas is something she is passionate about.

“I don’t take being captain lightly. Captaincy is for me all about the team. Making sure everyone is OK. I can easily identify when something is wrong. That is when I reach out. Saying the right thing at the right moment comes naturally to me,” she commented.

Nematangari credits the former Tuks head coach, Jenny van Dyk, for having had a significant influence on the way she thinks about the game and plays.

“Coach Jenny is an icon to me. I can still hear her voice in my head when I play. She taught me to be resilient, too, and that there is time for everything. For example, when the team is winning, you are allowed to show emotion. But you never show emotion when the team is with its back against the wall,”  Nematangari concluded.

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