The SPAR Proteas retained their fifth place ranking in the latest World Netball rankings released in London, while Uganda moved into sixth place.

There has been no change in the top five netball countries, with Australia ranked number one, the World Champions, New Zealand, ranked number two and the Commonwealth Games Champions, England ranked third.  They are followed by Jamaica and South Africa.

Uganda, a growing force in world netball, have risen to number six, replacing South Africa’s long-time nemesis, Malawi, who have dropped down to seventh place.

Uganda benefitted from their strong showing at the Africa Netball Cup in Windhoek, which was won by the SPAR Proteas, who defended their title in style, winning every match. Uganda went into the tournament on a high, having won the Debmarine Pent Series, which involved hosts Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya. Uganda was unbeaten in the tournament, which is part of a series aimed at helping lower ranked countries to improve their rankings and qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August.

Zambia dropped two places to 17^th and Namibia moved up three places to 22^nd.

The SPAR Proteas are currently in the United Kingdom for the 2022 Quad Series in London from January 15 to January 19. The other teams taking part are England, Australia and New Zealand.

QUAD SERIES IS A GOOD TEST FOR SPAR PROTEAS

South Africa’s senior netball team, the SPAR Proteas are currently in London and will be competing in the 2022 Netball Quad Series alongside hosts England, Australia, and New Zealand.

The first match of the tournament will be the battle of the flowers as hosts England’s Vitality Roses take on the SPAR Proteas on Saturday the 15^{th of} January 2022 at 16:00.

Due to the current challenge of COVID 19 that the world is facing, the SPAR Proteas had to be in an isolation camp for a week in South Africa before jetting off to England on the 7^th of January and fortunately, no positive cases have been confirmed in camp.

“It is always great to play against some of the best teams in the world, this gives you a sense of where you are as a team. I am delighted that we will get a chance to compete at this level especially after playing Africa Netball Championships and spending time in Ireland and Northern Ireland, respectively. We just need to do a bit of adjusting now and step up,” said Dorette Badenhorst, SPAR Proteas Head Coach.

The SPAR Proteas left the country with eleven players only as the other three players only joining the team in London, they were unable to come to South Africa due to travel restrictions.

SPAR Proteas captain and current most capped player of the team, Bongiwe Msomi has confirmed that the players are eager and ready to take to court – “it is always an honour for anyone of us to take to court and represent our country. The mood in the camp is very jovial and everyone is incredibly positive. We have a few young players in the team and we as the senior players need to make sure that we guide them and hold their hands in this series,”

Pay channel SuperSport have confirmed that all the matches will be broadcast in the splendour of High Definition on SuperSport Variety 4 DStv channel 209) between the 15^th and 19^th of January 2022.

2022 is a busy year for the SPAR Proteas as they will also be participating in the Commonwealth Games in July again. This is something that the coach is mindful of going into Quad Series.

“This is probably the last time we will be together before Commonwealth Games in July. We will also be looking at getting some game time with teams that will not be playing in Commonwealth. From our side, preparations are already underway, and we just need to finalise an opponent for then, concluded Badenhorst.