Coach Norma Plummer was full of praise for her Proteas team despite their sixth place finish at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
COACH Norma Plummer was utterly proud of her Proteas team after their fifth-place finish at the Netball World Cup.
Uganda stunned South Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Sunday, when the ‘She-Cranes’ sealed a narrow win over their African counterparts.
The defeat means the Proteas will end sixth in the competition, something the team were adamant to avoid.
But Plummer’s team found themselves on the losing end after the ‘She-Cranes’ were outplayed in many aspects of the game.
Plummer says although they would have wanted a higher finish her team gave their best and she is proud of their showing in Africa’s first Netball World Cup.
“You always want more, some people said to me we were going to be on the podium. These players had too much pressure on them and if I kept saying we going to be gold medallists, the pressure that would have been too much,” Plummer said.
“Would have loved to finish higher, but that is what we have been dealt and I said to the girls ‘you win some, you lose some’. Remember the feeling of the loss, if you really got it in you, you don’t want that feeling again.
“We’ve got real competitors in this team and I wouldn’t trade any of them, I think they are great.”
The 78-year-old has also said previously she would stay on at the helm of the team until December this year, after she made her return to the national team for a second stint to guide South Africa at this World Cup.
Plummer says she is yet to discuss just how much of a role she will play with with the Proteas after the World Cup.
“I tried to get it yesterday but they (Netball SA bosses) weren’t available. Because it’s coming to Australia, I would coach the girls on the Australian leg of the tour, which is in October.
“There’s been no full-on talk. I would like to assist one of the coaches, maybe to continue on, but until they make decisions I am not going to jump up and say ‘I will be there’ because maybe I won’t. I don’t know what their plans are. I don’t have any information.”
