Phumza Maweni says the Netball World Cup held in Cape Town is the most favourite she has played in.
The South African goal keeper is playing in her last World Cup tournament and although she is not retiring from the game as yet, she will not be available for the next tournament that will be returning to Sydney, Australia in 2027. The competition will be going back there for the first time in 12 years. It has been held in Australia three times before.
Maweni’s dream of getting onto the podium in front of her home province will not come true but her performance at the Cape Town International Convention Centre will live on the memories of many people including her.
Her intercept in the dying seconds of the second preliminary pool stages against New Zealand, helped the Spar Proteas earn a draw that made the thousands of spectators roar and left the Silver Ferns in disbelief.
“I worked so hard to play this World Cup and I am happy with my performance. I am fit and I was ready for everything. It’s hard to say it’s my last one, yes, but I really wanted to stand on the podium just to finish on the podium. This really hurts but I will take it. The intercept is part of my highlights (in any World Cup), the fans were fantastic. They supported us whether we win or we lose, they are still there for us. It was just electric, and the atmosphere is amazing. This is part of the highlight. It is always good to play home and to represent our country,” says Maweni.
The 2023 World Cup is her third having played in the 2015 edition in Sydney and in 2019 where South Africa finished in an unbelievable fourth place position in Liverpool, England.
Maweni began her international career quite late, she was 29 years old under former Proteas coach Elize Kotze and is playing her last World Cup in the province that moulded her netball career.
The 37-year-old refuses to take credit for the great intercept, she believes she wouldn’t have done it without her teammates.
“Sometimes I don’t look at the scoreboard but I realised that there were only 15 seconds left then I told myself we really need a turnover. I then asked Jeante (Strydom) to bring hands over (her hand) so that we win the balls because if they don’t do anything in front then there’s no chance to win the ball. That is what they did and then I saw they (Silver Ferns) lifted the ball then that is when we got the intercept. It was a collective intercept, not only mine,” she says.
'IMPORTANT TO FINISH AT LEAST FIFTH'
Although the Proteas won their last pool match in the second preliminary round, they were not able to book a semifinal position.
The former Sunshine Coast Lightning player reckons inconsistency has been their biggest downfall in this competition.
“I feel like (our performance) is up and don’t. We just need to be consistent when we are on the court, especially today. We played well in the first half and then dropped in the third quarter. We need to adjust quicker, especially when we have made changes, it’s really frustrating sometimes. I think performed well, we hurt ourselves sometimes but I think we were about to get there. We are very disappointed but we are okay with that,” she says.
Having started the preparations for the tournament in late December ahead of the Quad Series in January and the various camps throughout the year, including a trip to Melbourne where the local-based Proteas got some court time against clubs in Australia, Maweni is pleased with the effort that was put in to get the team ready for the 16-team tournament.
“I think the preparations were amazing, the setup behind the scenes was amazing. South Africa did a good job in make it possible for us to prepare. We started last year to build up and as a team, we stayed connected, we stayed together. That worked perfectly. The performance in 2019 and this one is quite similar,” she says.
After dropping from their 2019 performance, Maweni says it will be important to at least finish in fifth position which will also contribute to their world rankings.
“It is not what we worked for but it is what it is, we have to take it and retain our spot,” she says.
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