Zanele Mdodana celebrates Vitality Netball Nations Cup invitation

This comes after Netball South Africa confirmed the national team will partake in the four nations tournament, against England, Uganda, and Malawi from 1 February in the United Kingdom.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Mdodana says playing against high-ranked teams will give the team the experience needed as they build up to the 2027 Netball World Cup.

"Participating in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup is massive for us. To get the invitation says the world wants to see what the Spar Proteas are doing, and they want to keep [their finger] on our pulse," said Mdodana.

"It's exciting for the girls to be able to play against higher-ranked teams – yes, we've played Malawi and Uganda, and we'll meet them there again, but also the opportunity to play against England, who have really stepped up their game and caused a couple of upsets.

"So it's going to be important for us to gauge and challenge ourselves against a team that's ranked higher than us, and we're looking forward to that experience."

South Africa will first embark on a tour to Jamaica from 18 January, using the three-match series to prepare themselves for the Nations Cup in London, and Mdodana reckons that will go a long way in raising the Proteas' competitive level.

"Playing the Sunshine Girls will be a massive, massive task for us – they're third in the world and they've just done such an amazing job against England, and it's team we don't see often enough in Test matches, but they come out in World Cups and do so well," she added.

"So it's important for us to also play such a team that's ranked higher than us because, if you want to be the best in the world, you have to play against the best teams and beat them, so it's a step in the right direction for us to compete against them."

READ: Proteas vice-captain Karla Pretorius fired up for Jamaican tour