'SA Netball needs rugby, football resources'

Respected SA netball coach Jenny van Dyk is not happy with the development of the sport and bemoaned the lack of equal opportunities for men and women in the country.

Van Dyk coached the Jaguars to four successive Telkom Netball titles and is coaching Tshwane at the Spar National Netball Championships at the North West University in Potchefstroom.  

Her team is unbeaten in three matches and are favourites to win the tournament after they defeated Johannesburg 34-32 in a final before the final on Women™s Day. 

She hopes the time will come when the Proteas netball team can compete internationally, with similar sort of resources to that of cricket, soccer and rugby in South Africa.

"I hope a time will come, and I think we'll keep on pushing, for that. At the end of the day, we can't say, 'Hey, you know, we are struggling to perform internationally,' but not give them the tools to perform internationally," Van Dyk told SABC Sport.

"If we can give the tools to rugby, football and all the other sports to be able to really pull themselves out and have a full-time contract, and make sure when they're not with their clubs that they also get quite good salaries.

"That will be the time when we can really start blooming at the end of the day, but I mean we are getting there - we've got our 24 contracted players that will go into camp after the Commonwealth Games and spend a lot more time with the coaches.

"That is a step in the right direction, so I think everybody is pushing hard but, yes, obviously we want things to be done quicker."

By Charles Baloyi