The Proteas proved too good for Tonga in their Pool A match at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday. They will face Ireland next on Tuesday, before a potentially pivotal showdown with England on Wednesday. Photo: TeamSA The Spar Proteashave put themselves in an excellent position after two convincing victories, but theirCommonwealth Games campaign is about to enter a defining three-day stretch.
South Africa face Northern Ireland on Tuesday before taking on world No 1 Australia on Wednesday and England on Thursday, with all three fixtures likely to determine whether they reach the semi-finals. The Proteas have opened their campaign with impressive victories over Malawi (65-44) and Tonga (96-42), while Northern Ireland have endured a difficult start, suffering a 75-40 defeat to world No 1 Australia before going down 69-48 to England. The latter, meanwhile, succumbed 66-54 to Australia.
The latter That defeat means Thursday’s clash with the Proteas could prove pivotal in the race for the semi-finals. South Africa are unbeaten against Northern Ireland, including a comfortable victory at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, while Jenny van Dyk’s side will also draw confidence from their Test series victory over England earlier this year. That landmark success formed part of a carefully planned 12-month build-up that also included tours to Australia and New Zealand, Africa Netball Cup success and a three-match warm-up series against Uganda.
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The emphatic win over Tonga further highlighted South Africa’s growing squad depth, with Van Dyk making several changes to her starting line-up and rotating combinations throughout the match without disrupting the Proteas’ rhythm. “We’ve got two games now with the hope that it can become another four in total. All of them will be against the best, so you need to manage the load a little bit.
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