Barkerville to represent SA in Danone Nations Cup World Final

Barkerville primary from the Eastern Cape will be representing South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup World Final in Madrid, Spain, on 9 October 201. Barkerville claimed their place in the South African finals yesterday, without losing any matches during the day. No goals were scored against the team from Mount Frere in the Easter Cape.

Barkerville’s scores of the South African Final:

Barkerville 1 – Robanyane Toto II – 0

Barkerville 1 – Ndongeni 0

Barkerville 3 – Nozizwe 0

Barkerville 3 – Mofulatshepe

“Barkerville dominated more than the others teams, and they deserved to win the finals” comment by Neil Tovey, Bafana Bafan legend and ex captain.

Barkerville was crowned the South Africa champions after defeating Kgwatlhele 1-0 in the finals.

The 2011 editio of the Danone Nations cup was the second year that CANON, played an integral part in the Danone Nations Cup. “Canon definitely add value, we are convinced that both of us could run this tournament for years, all over the country in South Africa” Sandra Dorville, Communications Manager for Danone.

Jets creep closer as Blues slump to defeat hat-trick

Pre-tournament favourites Galaxy Blues slumped to their third defeat in three matches in the absence of their World Cup players as they went down 57-46 against the Starlight jets in Round 11 of the Netball Grand Series this weekend.

The predicted need for depth before the commencement of the competition has become reality for some of the teams that have players in Singapore. Although the Blues cling onto their second spot on the log, they are now just two log points ahead of third-placed Jets. This Blues loss has seen the unbeaten Lightning Roses move further ahead by virtue of their 42-27 win over the Western Storms.

Although the Jets as a team played well, their goal defence Debbie Nieuwoudt and goal shooter Deancke Rhode were at the crux of the win that could seriously influence the play-off permutations and draws.

With the Red Kestrels salvaging a losing bonus point against the Black Diamonds who won 44-39 in their match in Potchefstroom, they have retained their very vague mathematical chance of a play-off place. However, there are so many ‘ifs’ to the permutations they need to progress that it seems practically unachievable.

Although the Kingdom Queens put up a spirited display at home against the Ibhayi Gales in a good match, they missed their goal bonus point in going down 57-43 – and the Gales, with three points from the match, are back in the hunt for one of the four play-off places which realistically seem to lie between the Roses, Blues, Jets, Diamonds and Gales.

The weekend’s results are:

Red Kestrels 39 Black Diamonds 44,

Western Storms 27 Lightning Roses 42,

Kingdom Queens 43 Ibhayi Gales 57,

Galaxy Blues 46 Starlight Jets 57

 

Slip-up simply cannot be afforded

With only two rounds remaining in the first Netball Grand Series competition, it has come down to a weekend where no slip-ups can be afforded as the teams chase play-off positions and also home semi-finals.

Key to the competition could well be the clash between the Galaxy Blues and the Black Diamonds in Pretoria. A win for the Diamonds will see the Starlight Jets move into second place – on condition, of course, that they beat the Red Kestrels in Potchefstroom. Bonus points could also influence the position of these teams and other play-off contenders drastically.

This match is also important for the Diamonds to consolidate their fourth position. The Ibhayi Gales, away in Kuils River for their match against the Western Storms, merely need a slip-up from the Diamonds to move into play-off contention. But a proviso, of course, is that the Gales first win their match against a Storms side that has made considerable progress after their slow start to the competition.

In Richards Bay, the shock of the season will be needed for the Kingdom Queens to beat the Lightning Roses who have swept all before them in their 12 rounds to date.

With the Proteas at the World Cup probably back for next weekend’s final round in the competition, this is the final opportunity for teams without international stars to make hay and garner some log points.

This weekend’s fixtures are:

Friday:

8 pm:  Western Storms v Ibhayi Gales, Western Cape Sport School

Saturday (all matches 12 pm):

Galaxy Blues v Black Diamonds UP, Rembrandt Hall, Pretoria

Red Kestrels v Starlight Jets, NWU, Potchefstroom Sports Hall

Kingdom Queens v Lightning Roses, UZ, Bhekuzulu Hall, Richards Bay

Impressive Roses keep up their prime form

June 7 – The Lightning Roses kept ahead of the chasing pack on a weekend where the race for play-off berths became more intense in the Netball Grand Series.

Vanes-Marie Du Toit of the Galaxy Blues

They beat the Starlight Jets 53-38 in Bloemfontein on Saturday, and by virtue of the bonus point gained kept their one-point log lead over the Galaxy Blues who easily accounted for the Western Storms in Stellenbosch, 47-28, thereby also earning a bonus point. The two leading sides have now opened a comfortable gap on the third-placed sides, the Black Diamonds and Starlight Jets.

Danique Du Toit of the Lightning Roses

The unbeaten Roses seem unstoppable. They trailed the Jets after the first quarter, but then their   two circle combinations dominated proceedings with shooters Claudia Basson and Maryka Holtzhausen particularly prominent. Carine Terblanche also had a noticeably constant game for the winners, while Lindie Lombard was the pick of the Jets team.

The Kingdom Queens, especially at home, have gone from strength to strength lately and were slightly unfortunate in losing 51-49 to the Red Kestrels. The Queens were however rewarded for their effort of scoring more than 45 goals and also gaining a losing bonus point – and their haul of two points give them an outside chance to still make the play-offs.

The Black Diamonds had to work hard to subdue the Ibhayi Gales in Despatch, and the 39-35 score line emphasised that a win against the Eastern Cape side should not be taken for granted. Their win moves the Diamonds into joint third place with the Jets, who couldn’t get a bonus point from their loss in Bloemfontein.

Shirolene Smith of the Lightning Roses

The results of Round Eight are:

Lightning Roses 53 Starlight Jets 38;

Black Diamonds 39 Ibhayi Gales 35;

Red Kestrels 51 Kingdom Queens 49;

Galaxy Blues 47 Western Storms 28.

Lightning Roses could lose their lead

The high-riding Lightning Roses have a tough job on their hands on Saturday even though they’re at home to the Starlight Jets when Round Eight of the Netball Grand Series takes place.

Just a single point ahead of the second-placed Galaxy Blues on the log, the Roses are in danger of losing their log lead against a Jets side that has been competitive throughout. A bonus point will be difficult to obtain while the Blues, even away to the Western Storms, must have a good chance to out 45 goals for a bonus point past the home side in Stellenbosch on Friday night.

The Roses’ two circles, with goal attack Maryka Holtzhausen and shooter Claudia Basson in fine form and their defence of Adele Niemand and Karla Mostert supplementing one another’s play perfectly, will again be key to their success. The challenge for the Jets will be to overcome these strengths of the Roses.

For the Blues’ five Proteas, this is their penultimate match before they leave for the World Cup in Singapore. Despite the Storms’ first league win last weekend, it will come as a surprise if they can upset the Blues rhythm to ensure a win.

In what should be a competitive clash the Black Diamonds, third on the log, can improve their position with a win against the Ibhayi Gales in Despatch on Friday night. The Gales will rely on their three Proteas who could be key against the resurgent Diamonds for whom Nontle Gwavu is in the form of their life

The Red Kestrels, with some good recent performances behind them, will find that a win in Richards Bay does not come easy. They’re up against the Kingdom Queens who have been competitive in virtually every outing and especially difficult to master at home – and Saturday will be no different.

Kestrel’s goal keeper Carle Jordaan is injured and Nadia Uys in centre court and Elsunet du Plessis hold the key to this match where a win will keep the Kestrels in the hunt for the play-offs. The home side will look up to goal attack Bongekwa Gumede and Bongiwe Msomi to secure a second win and keep up their hopes for a good run-in in the second round of the competition.

This weekend’s fixtures:
Friday (both matches at 7 pm):

Ibhayi Gales v Black Diamonds, Ernst Swanepoel Indoor centre, Despatch
Western Storms v Galaxy Blues, DF Malan Indoor Centre, Stellenbosch

Saturday (both matches at 12 pm):

Lightning Roses v Starlight Jets, UFS Callie Human Hall, Bloemfontein
Kingdom Queens  v Red Kestrels, Umfolozi College Indoor Centre, Richards Bay

NGS Cub fixtures:

Despatch: Hoërskool Framesby v Itembelihle (Friday 5 pm)
Bloemfontein: Welkom Gimnasium v Hoërskool Sentraal (Saturday 10 pm)
Richards Bay: Richards Bay High v Kewag High (Saturday 10pm)

Starlight Jets come back to draw with the Black Diamonds

It was predicted that it would be the match of Round Seven of the Netball Grand Series, and so it was when the Black Diamonds drew with the visiting Starlight Jets in Soweto on Saturday, 42-all.

It was a good match and tough contest, and one the Jets could’ve won towards the end as they came back from a four-goal deficit. However, missed opportunities and too many mistakes throughout the match put paid to their chances in a match where Nontle Gwavu again excelled for the Diamonds.

For the Jets, wing defence Pinky Kose impressed and Debbie Nieuwoudt, the goal defence, also had an outstanding match.

The draw means that each of the two sides get only one point to add to their log tally  –  a setback indeed for both the Diamonds and the Jets as the two top sides, frontrunners Lightning Roses from Bloemfontein and Pretoria’s Galaxy Blues, both had easy bonus-point wins against Ibhayi Gales ( 60-28) and the Red Kestrels (56-34) respectively.

The Lightning Roses have indeed been a revelation in this competition, and again clocked up a big score against a competent side. They are increasingly becoming a real threat to pre-competition favourites Blues, who pulled out all the stops against the Kestrels after their unexpected loss against the Diamonds last weekend.

Another feature of the weekend’s matches was the first win by the Western Storms who beat the Kingdom Queens 44-41 in Cape Town, earning two log points to the one of the Queens. The two teams now share the last place on the log, each with one win to their name.

The log positions at the top therefore remain as they were before the round, with the gap between number three and four and the top two widening.

The results were:

Galaxy Blues 56 Red Kestrels 34; Western Storms 44 Kingdom Queens 41; Black Diamonds 42 Starlight Jets 42; Ibhayi Gales 28 Lightning Roses 60.

 

Race for leadership at the halfway stage

WIM VAN DER BERG – The race for leadership at the halfway stage is truly on this weekend. The Galaxy Blues will want to atone for their unexpected defeat against the Black Diamonds last weekend when they come up against the Kestrels, while the Lightning Roses will go all out against the difficult Ibhayi Gales in Port Elizabeth to retain their log lead. While these two matches will have a bearing on the log leadership, the match in Soweto between the Diamonds and the Starlight Jets could well be the outstanding clash of the seventh round. Both come off good wins – and the Diamonds, in particular, will be buoyed by last week’s win against the Blues, with the Soweto team really gelling for the first time in the series. Although it was more than a show by individuals, Nontle Gwavu was in scintillating form last week – and with the class of goal attacke Martha Machoga and goal shooter Tsakane Mbewe, the Jets’ defence will undoubtedly be under strain. The performance of goalkeeper Christelle Ellis will be crucial for the visitors, who have goal shooter Deancke Rohde back after injury. The Blues, at full strength, are still smarting after last week’s defeat, and that will make a difficult match even more so for the Kestrels who travel to Pretoria in search of points to keep in touch kin the front-runners’ race. Attacking wing Nadia Uys and captain and goal defence Marli Geel are crucial to the North West side’s cause – but they will undoubtedly start off as the underdogs. ** The Ibhayi Gales are at home to unbeaten log leaders Lightning Roses, who brimming with confidence after the 64-30 lashing they gave the Kingdom Queens last weekend. While the Gales will greatly rely on the versatility of the experienced Zanele Mdodana, the all-round play of the Roses will be difficult to break down. The Bloemfontein side should again thrive on the combination of their shooters, goal shoot Claudia Basson goal attack, Maryka Holtzhausen, as well as that of goal defence Carla Mostert and Adele Niemand. Control of the circle will again be their objective The weekend’s fourth match will also be interesting. Western Storms, still without a win after six rounds, are at home to the Kingdom Queens who have one victory behind their belts. The Storms have threatened in a few occasions, and goal attack Kay Barron could be key to their hopes. Her inclusion last weekend made a difference on attack. The Queens, who have fluctuated in form and were well-beaten last weekend, will have a real challenge on their hands – and the form of the Queens’ Bongiwe Msomi, who has been pulled up to the World Cup squad, will be particularly interesting in this match.

Four matches in the NGS Cub league are played this weekend. On Friday night in Port Elizabeth Hoërskool Grens and Hoërskool Despatch will meet at NMMU in what neither could really call a home match. Likewise Hoërskool Stellenberg and Paarl Gimnasium both travel to Kuils River for their match at the Western Cape Sport School, while Rand Girls High and Mondeor High meet in Soweto. Hoërskool Menlopark and Centurion will meet in Pretoria.

The NGS fixtures for the weekend are: NGS Cubs: Friday (both at 5 pm): Hoërskool Grens v Hoërskool Despatch in Port Elizabeth; Hoërskool Stellenberg v Paarl Gimnasium in Cape Town Saturday: 10am: Rand Girls High v Mondeor High in Soweto NGS League: Friday (8 pm and 7 pm respectively): Ibhayi Gales v Lightning Roses, NMMU South, Port Elizabeth Western Storms v Kingdom Queens, Western Cape Sport School Saturday (both at 12pm): Black Diamonds v Starlight Jets, Orlando Stadium Soweto Galaxy Blues v Red Kestrels, UP, Rembrandt Hall, Pretoria