Netball: Silver Ferns overwhelm South Africans

CAPE TOWN - The Silver Ferns showed a clinical efficiency when overpowering South Africa 88-34 in the Tri-Nations netball series in Cape Town.

In recent times the Silver Ferns have shown an inability to finish off opponents, but there were no such worries on Saturday night.

New Zealand were so dominant that coach Yvonne Willering had the luxury of giving all her players court time during the match.

That meant former international captains Sheryl Clarke (Samoa) and Vilimaina Davu (Fiji) made their New Zealand test debuts, while fellow defender Anna Veronese, of Canterbury, also won her first cap.

As a result several viable combinations emerged from the match, giving Willering plenty to ponder ahead of Wednesday's game against Australia.

"What we were looking for was consistency, no matter what combination went on," Willering said. "It was really more about us than anything else. We wanted to minimise unforced errors and do the simple things well.

"At times we did that. We had a slow start and we were a bit nervous, but once we got into the game we grew."

South Africa lost contact after the first five minutes, with the Silver Ferns posting quarter scores of 22-8, 41-21 and 67-27.

The hosts had no answer to the speed of the Silver Ferns' attack line, who continually found space to work in, allowing goal-shoot Irene van Dyk a memorable match against her old team-mates.

It was the first time the shooting ace had played against South Africa since moving to New Zealand in January.

Once the pre-match formalities were over, van Dyk was quickly into her stride, turning on a quality display which could only have drawn envy from the South Africans.

It was probably van Dyk's best performance in her seven-test career with the Silver Ferns. She missed just five shots at goal throughout the match from 69 attempts.

The Silver Ferns had more than twice as many shots at goal, with 101 attempts compared with South Africa's 45.

The recall of former captain Belinda Colling made a difference to New Zealand's attacking play, while Temepara George, in the first half, and Adine Harper could have solved the Silver Ferns' long-standing problem at wing-attack.

New Zealand's solid defensive combinations proved a nightmare for South Africa.

Lesley Nicol put in her customary high work-rate, causing plenty of damage outside the circle, while the tall timber of Bernice Mene, Linda Vagana and Davu picked off a steady flow of intercepts.

"All those combinations took the opportunity today and relished it. It was neat to see," Mene said.

"I definitely didn't expect the score to be that big. We've improved on a few things like bringing the ball through court and realising our turnover possession."

Mene, the New Zealand captain, was used sparingly, coming on for just the third quarter in an effort to minimise the risk to her dodgy knee on the concrete surface.

Following their 33-73 loss to Australia on Thursday, South African coach Elize Kotze said she may have misjudged the qualities of the transtasman nations.

"I felt more positive after the Aussie game," Kotze said. "But congratulations to New Zealand. They played very well.

"We thought - and it was a mistake - that New Zealand's attack was slower than Australia's. I had no illusions about their defence.

"I have always said New Zealand's defence is much better than Australia's. They really know the art of defending."

The teams move on to Durban today where Australia will play South Africa tomorrow followed by the eagerly anticipated clash between the world champions and the Silver Ferns on Wednesday.

- NZPA