Newly promoted Griqualand West caused two major upsets on the opening day of the Spar national netball tournament at Pretoria University on Monday, beating both finalists from the 2007 tournament — defending champions Gauteng North and losing finalists North West South.
Griquas, who were promoted to the A section alongside Gauteng West, scored their first victory in the morning, when they beat North West South by 44 goals to 41 in their opening match. Later in the day, they continued their giant-killing deeds with victory over defending champions Gauteng North by 45 goals to 43.
Their success was largely due to the presence of two Protea players, goal shooter Claudia Basson and mid-fielder Liezel Wium. Basson was formerly with Boland and 31-year-old Wium spent some years playing in New Zealand before securing employment in Kimberley.
Griquas got off to a rollicking start, leading 14-four at the end of the first quarter. Basson was superb in her accuracy, while the Gauteng North shooters appeared unable to find the net.
In the second quarter, the defending champions outscored the newcomers by 12 goals to 11, with the half-time score 25-16. Gauteng North started clawing their way back in the second half, scoring 12 goals to Griquas’ nine in the third quarter, but Griquas made the most of their excellent start and were able to hang on to their lead.
Coach Elsje van der Merwe and most of the players were in tears when the final whistle blew, as the realisation of their achievement sank in. However, Griquas are unlikely to be able to maintain the form they achieved on the opening day — they came with a squad of just eight players, and two matches a day are bound to take their toll.
The other newly promoted team, Gauteng West, were not nearly as successful. Western Province beat them 50-24 in their opening match, and North West South beat them 38-22.
Another feature of the opening day was the non-arrival of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and Gauteng Vaal. The Zululand women’s team are in the A-section, Gauteng Vaal in the B-section and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands are in the C-section.
The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands men’s team and one of the Zululand men’s teams also failed to turn up on the opening day. — Sapa