Australia were at their ruthless best against a gallant South Africa at the Netball World Cup in Sydney, outclassing the Proteas 66-31 to secure a top-two finish in Pool F – and a place in the semi-finals.
Gutsy Sydney Swifts defender Sharni Layton, who didn’t take to the court in Tuesday’s win over England and played out of position, at goal defence, in Sunday’s shock five-goal loss to nemesis New Zealand, started at goalkeeper, at the expense of captain Laura Getiz.
Looking like a captive lion released back into its natural environment, Layton caused havoc from the opening moments of Australia’s second qualifying round fixture at Allphones Arena.
“Coming into a worlds, you know it’s going to be thrown around a lot and you’ve got to be prepared to play whatever role the team needs you to play at the time,” Layton said of the squad rotation. “The exciting thing we’ve put out there tonight is that we can have absolutely anyone out there and have full faith in all 12.”
Layton’s strong footwork, consistent hassling and incessant chatter set the tone for a full-court defensive effort – and put World Cup debutante and emerging talent, 186cm South African goal shooter Lenize Potgieter, on notice.
Potgieter, 21, came into the match with an 89% shooting accuracy and one of the highest tallies at the tournament with 174 goals, but had her work cut out with a marauding Layton clearly on a mission.
The ANZ Championships grand final MVP was paired with Rebecca Bulley at goal defence, who hasn’t seen much court time this tournament. Renae Hallinan was trusted with WD again, Paige Hadley started at WA and Kim Ravaillion remained coach Lisa Alexander’s centre of choice.
The world number six Proteas – coached by Australian stalwart Norma Plummer, who captained Australia as a player in the 1970s and led the Diamonds to World Cup victories in 2011 and 2007 as coach – finished second in their pool in the preliminary round.
Plummer, who is known for her no-nonsense approach and commitment to nurturing young talent, brought seven debutantes to the World Cup and she wasn’t afraid to play them against the best; putting out 25-year-old Karla Mostert (GD) and 23-year-old Rochelle Lawson (WD) alongside Potgieter, who has played all but one quarter in the tournament, in her starting seven. Captain Maryka Holtzhausen was given the GA bib.
Asked about her decision to give chances to the youngsters, Plummer said, “It would be stupid not to. It was a game we weren’t going to get over the line on, so why not give the experience to everyone.”
After not getting on the court against the Kiwis and playing just the last quarter against England, Caitlin Thwaites, who has an 83% return rate this World Cup, got her chance to start and Phumza Maweni had the unenviable task of walking to her in the circle. Thwaites looked ready to deliver.
She paired up with Erin Bell at goal attack, who was controversially left out of the victorious 2014 Commonwealth Games side, but fought hard to make this squad.
The Australians started like a shot out of a gun, with 11 unanswered goals before the Proteas finally converted through Potgieter after more than six minutes. The first quarter finished 23-5. Bell shot at 100% with 9/9 and Thwaites missed only one, scoring 14/15.
Plummer was quick to react to the poor start, replacing captain Holtzhausen, who only had two in the first, with yet another debutante, Elsje du Plessis, for the second quarter. It made little difference though, as the Australians continued to pile on another 15 to go into half-time 38-12 up.
Thwaites slotted 20 at 91% accuracy in the first half, while Bell repaid Alexander’s faith scoring 18/19 at 95%.
In the third, Layton went to goal defence, bringing Geitz on at goalkeeper. In a surprise move, Renae Hallinan went to centre, giving Ravaillion a rest and Bulley went to wing defence.
Plummer brought on Adele Niemand to replace Maweni at goalkeeper, but it didn’t slow the Thwaites juggernaut. Both she and Bell continued their dominance and finished the third with 27 goals each for the game, with the Diamonds leading 54-21 at three-quarter time. South Africa had their best quarter in the third, scoring nine, but Plummer injected another youngster, Lindie Lombard, who went into goal attack, for the last.
The Proteas stayed with the Aussies in the fourth quarter and managed to score nine, mostly thanks to Potgieter. Bell added six to finish with 33, at 94%, for the match and Thwaites also added six in the last for a total of 33, at 87%, for the game.
South Africa were out of their depth and the Diamonds, given a chance, succeeded in giving coach Alexander a welcome headache as she perfects her line-up ahead of a likely semi-final against Jamaica on Saturday. First up, though, is their final pool match, against Wales on Friday.
In the other Pool F match on Wednesday, New Zealand got over a spirited Malawi 57-49.
