Spar Baby Proteas clinch gold to maintain 100% World Cup qualifying record

Under the expert guidance of coach Precious Mthembu, the Baby Proteas emerged victorious in all seven of their matches, including two wins over Malawi, topping their group with 12 points and securing a coveted spot in the 2025 global tournament alongside Malawi and Zambia.

A visibly moved Mthembu expressed her gratitude to the coaches who has mentored her, Jenny Van Dyk and Dr. Elsje Jordaan, following her team’s flawless performance in the seven-team tournament.

"You know what, not just Jenny, Doctor Elsje Jordaan, Norma Plummer, everyone who's really had an impact on my netball. I've learnt so much from them as a player and I'm implementing that especially to the young kids. I've been with Jenny for quite some time now as an assistant coach, I listen to her with the accolades that she's had winning the Telkom League, Champs, and Varsity Cup, she has so much knowledge and she's a very detailed coach. So, I've taken that as a tool for myself," Mthembu said.

Mthembu attributed her team’s exceptional performance in the week-long tournament to her collaborative exchange of ideas and resources with one of the country’s top coaches Jenny Van Dyk.

READ: How Netball South Africa plans to help Baby Proteas prepare for the 2025 World Cup

She expressed unending praise for the invaluable benefits gained from working alongside Van Dyk.

"Sharing my resources between her and me, every decision she makes and every decision that she gives me or an idea, I take it with two hands. So, I'm very grateful to Netball South Africa for giving me the platform to be in touch with her. Also, for players who are here, it's a journey for them to be passed on to the Spar Proteas senior side. So, I'm already having conversations about who she wants because we are training partners. We need to close the gap between the two teams," Mthembu added.

On the other hand, Baby Proteas captain Phopi Nematangari told SABC Sport that coach Mthembu’s insightful half-time team talks spurred the team on to elevate their performance in the final two quarters.

"Good game, Malawi definitely gave it to us but half time our coach in our changing room told us to step up our game because that's not the standard that we've been playing and I believe the girls went back to the drawing board and went back to the basics and went back to the standard that we usually play throughout the tournament and I think that's what kept us going and what took us through," Nematangari said.