DURBAN - Proteas netball coach Norma Plummer believes the sport is still a long way from turning professional in South Africa, as the national side desperately looks to catch up with the top four sides in the world.
While the South African team has clearly closed the gap, it is difficult for amateurs to be on par with professionals such as Australia, New Zealand and England.
The Proteas have made serious improvements since Plummer took charge of the side in 2015 bringing with her the knowledge of winning two world titles with her home country, Australia.
South Africa may not have a win to show over the first three legs of the inaugural Netball Quad Series against Australia, New Zealand and England but have certainly shown potential.
“We’re a long way off, it has taken Australia a long time to get paid in a fully professional structure,” Plummer said about SA’s potential of turning professional.
“I really hope it happens down the track because we need to get South Africa, Malawi and other African countries on board for the sport to survive and make it into the Olympics.
“We’ve got to keep on challenging and get the coaches out there to make a difference to these teams.”
During the home leg of the series, SA nearly claimed their first victory in 22 years against England, while their 16-point defeat was their smallest losing margin ever against Australia.
Some of the country’s top players are being recognised on the international scene, with Karla Mostert set to become the first South African to play in the Australian league, while Lenize Potgieter is New Zealand bound.
“It is going to be great just to compete and measure yourself against the best in the world every weekend and become better,” Mostert said.
“You can’t get that game time anywhere else, I am definitely looking forward to that.”
Speaking after their 62-46 defeat to the Australian Diamonds on Tuesday, Plummer said she was "quietly pleased" with her charges’ performance against the top side in the world.
“We used to lose to Australia by more than 50 goals, the last time we played, we lost by 25 points and tonight we got it down to 16 and we made a lot of mistakes,” Plummer said.
"We are in there in patches of play, we just need to be consistent and we need to learn the different options of getting out of situations.”
Plummer said she had been trialling a few new combinations with an eye on selecting the best possible team heading to next year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia.
“I need to know the depth and quality of all the players under pressure so that when the Commonwealth Games selection comes we are picking the right ones,” she said.
Australian coach Lisa Alexander said SA were slowly but surely gaining on the top four sides in the world.
“They need more control over their bodies, and they have to increase their mental toughness and resilience,” Alexander said. “But they are pushing the top teams. However, Australia, New Zealand and England are all fully professional, whereas the South Africans are amateurs.”
The Proteas leave for the UK on Thursday for the final leg of the Quad Series where they will play against New Zealand in London on Saturday.