Spar Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi says the team has to use the upcoming Quad series to up their standard ahead of the Netball World Cup which will be from July 28 to August 6 in Cape Town.
The Quad will take place from January 21 to 25 at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town. The Proteas will welcome Australia, England and New Zealand for a total of eight games. This year's Quad series will serve as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
The Proteas have been in camp for more than a week, and their mentor, Norma Plummer, has been putting them through their paces.
“Everyone is excited about putting in the hard work, Norma has clear standards that she looks to us to work at and at this point, she is pleased with what we are putting out. I feel like everyone is looking forward to what’s next," said Msomi.
Next for the Proteas is the Quad series against the favourites to win the World Cup. Msomi and her teammates know that this year's edition of the series is key as there are mandates they have to hit as they continue with preparations for the global showpiece.
"We are thrilled to be getting the opportunity to play Australia, New Zealand and England because it will help us to prepare for the World Cup. We know it is important for us to play well and do well," Msomi said.
"We spoke as a group in terms of why we should be excited about playing the Quad series; you can never ask for a better tournament to prepare for a World Cup, a World Cup that is different this time because we are hosting it.
“It’s great for us to have these countries coming here, we are not playing the Quad series for the sake of it; we now have our goals and mandates. We know that this is a time we can step up and change things up a bit and rate ourselves in terms of who we are in 2023 and how far are we in where we want to be, are we there yet? It’s all going to show," she said.
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