Netball World Cup: Uganda suffers first defeat

Aug 10, 2015

Uganda’s She Cranes suffered their first defeat – against Wales – on day four of the Netball World Cup 2015 in Sydney, Australia.


true
  By Joseph Kizza

true



Uganda’s She Cranes suffered their first defeat – against Wales – on day four of the Netball World Cup 2015 in Sydney, Australia.

That meant Uganda settled for second place of Pool D in the first phase of the competition. For Wales, who are six places above Uganda in the world rankings, Monday's slender 49-47 win inside the Allphones Arena ensured they win the pool.

Still, the two sides progress to the top eight, as their game was only to decide who would top the pool, both having been unbeaten in their previous two fixtures.

Uganda had been flawless, opening their campaign with a comprehensive 74-38 win over Zambia, and following it up with more victory over a hapless Fiji, before seeing their winning streak eventually brought to an end by Wales.

It was the first time the two sides met at the World Cup, and theirs was a fierce, intense and entertaining encounter before a buoyant crowd in Sydney.

Earlier, South Africa ended their preliminary round with a comprehensive 89-17 win over Sri Lanka on Monday, before Zambia ending the first round of this tournament without a win after being beaten 59-51 by Fiji, who were also in pursuit of their first victory of the campaign.

Meanwhile, England finished top of Pool B after thrashing Samoa 85-34 to set up a second round date with defending champions Australia.

As hosts and 10-time record tournament winners, current holders Australia had been expected to win Pool A on Sunday, but a shock 52-47 defeat by arch rivals New Zealand subjected them to second place.

New Zealand, ranked second in the world behind Australia, will now face Pool B’s either Jamaica or Scotland (who play on Monday) in the second phase.

Malawi, the only unbeaten African side following Uganda's defeat to Wales, made a strong Pool C top finish by beating Singapore 75-31.


true
A quick look at the next phase


The preliminary round (first stage), determined which teams would progress to the qualification round. The qualification round, which begins on Tuesday (day five), will determine teams that will play in the semi-finals/medal games and who will play in the placing games. This phase will have the 16 teams divided into another four pools, based on their performance in the first phase.

The first two pools will feature the top two group finishers in the preliminary rounds. Technically, in a way, this is what you would call the quarter-final stage. A round robin format will then decide who moves on to the semi-finals (top two teams from each pool will progress).

Meanwhile, the other two pools will compete in the play offs (joined by the bottom two teams from the first two pools) for the placing games (5th to 16th place).


First taste of defeat


On Monday, Uganda started off a tad wobbly, eventually picking up their rhythm in an end-to-end fast-paced first quarter after letting Wales score three past them. Halfway through the quarter, it was five-apiece and from then on, the action was to and fro.

It was a superb highly intense first 15 minutes, with the top two sides in Pool D going for the break tied on 15 goals apiece. The two teams were so much evenly matched that by the end of the opening quarter, they shared the same shooting accuracy (83%), goal attempts (18) and rebounds.

After restart, super hardworking goal attack Racheal Nanyonga was the culprit of an early miss, but teammate and captain Peace Proscovia used her aerial power to quickly make up for that with the first goal of the second quarter. From then on, it was swiftly back to the high-tempo game that the first quarter had seen.

The She Cranes tried to tear away from their European opponents, but the Welsh side kept ever in touch with them, eventually keeping up on 21 and going ahead as Uganda became more erratic, punctuated by several contact calls from the umpire.

Play had to be stopped briefly a little over one minute to the end of the first quarter, with Wales’ goal keeper needing medical attention – and Uganda trailing by one goal.

The two sides went into the half time break with Wales having a slender edge over the She Cranes – 27-26. At this point, skipper Proscovia had buried 16 of her 19 attempts while goal attack Nanyonga had scored 10 out of 12 tries.  On the other end, Wales’ goal shooter Chelsea Lewis had dipped 20 while teammate Emma Thomas had scored all of her seven attempts.

Half-time still had the two sides tied on an 84% shooting accuracy following a second quarter that saw the She Cranes improve their defensive dimension.

Again, Proscovia opened the score in the third quarter, bursting the doors open for a stretch into the lead past Wales, who were keen to quickly catch up on 30.

The third quarter was largely all Uganda, cheered on by a huge crowd including home supporters, as the super work rate of Nanyonga and captain Proscovia's mid-air versatility proved the difference as the two sides went into the break with Uganda leading 39-35.

But Wales returned stronger into the fourth and final quarter, swiftly catching up to the Ugandans, and effectively frog-leaping them to eventually take the day.

It was a tight game that saw She Cranes skipper score 26 from 32 attempts overall and Nanyonga the more accurate player, burying 21 of her 23 attempts. Wales' lanky goal shooter Lewis netted 35 out of 42 tries while Thomas dipped 14 in as many attempts.




How African teams have performed so far

Dominant Uganda

On Friday, Malawi started off with a 58-51 win against South Africa (Pool C). Malawian goal shooter Mwayi Kumwenda scored 40 and goal attack Sindi Simtowe 18. For the South Africans, goals came from Lenize Potgieter (43) and Maryka Holtzhausen (8).

The same day, in another all-African encounter, Uganda beat Zambia 78-34 (Pool D), with She Cranes skipper and goal shooter Peace Proscovia proving dominant, scoring 56 goals, goal attack Stella Oyella burying 8 and Racheal Nanyonga dipping 10 from 14 attempts. Meanwhile, Malawi’s goal shooter Diana Banda scored 11, goal attack Lucy Jere 22 and Elizabeth Bwalya 5.

Malawi unstoppable


On Saturday, Uganda stretched their winning streak by brushing aside Fiji 61-40. Again, it was captain Proscovia who saw the net the most times, scoring 37 from 45 attempts. Teammate Nanyonga buried 24. The Fijians had Taraima Mitchell score 27 and Unouna Afa Rusivakula 8 goals.

Across to Pool C, South Africa made amends for their first game shortfall with a thorough 69-21 victory over Singapore. Lenize Potgieter was still pivotal, scoring 39, Elsje du Plessis 19 and Maryka Holtzhausen 11. A lackluster Singaporean side had goal shooter Mei Ling Yu manage only 6 goals, Charmaine Soh 11 out of 18 attempts and Huifen Chen 4.

In the same pool, Malawi galvanized their victorious start of the campaign with a comprehensive 101-18 win over Sri Lanka. Here, the African side’s goals were shared amongst Joyce Mvula (28), Sindi Simtowe (20), Mwayi Kumwenda (32) and Jane Chimaliro (21). For the below-par Sri Lankans, Hasitha Mendis scored 6, Semini Alwis 7 and Thishala Algama 5.

Zambia come up short again


On day three (Sunday), Zambia, the only African side yet to win at this point, suffered another defeat by Wales (71-44) in Pool D. Wales’ Chelsea Lewis scored as many goals as their opponents did in the entire game (44), Emma Thomas added 13, Georgia Rowe buried 12 and Sara Bell planted 2. Lucy Jere proved again Zambia’s top scorer with 31 goals. Teammate Elizabeth Bwalya managed 11 and Diana Banda dipped 2.

Malawi remained the team to beat in Pool C after winning the group with a 75-31 win over Singapore. To ensure this comes to pass, Mwayi Kumwenda scored 39, Sindi Simtowe 23, Jane Chimaliro 7 and Joyce Mvula 6. Their opponents’ goals came from Charmaine Soh (23), Huifen Chen (5) and Mei Ling Yu (3).

South Africa too strong

On the last day of the first phase (Monday), South Africa were too strong for Sri Lanka (89-17) to finish second in Pool C. Lenize Potgieter, who has been instrumental for South Africa, yet again stepped up to the occasion, dipping 43 out of 46 attempts. Maryka Holtzhausen scored 29, Lindie Lombard 14 and Elsje du Plessis 11. Meanwhile, Thishala Algama scored 13 for hapless Sri Lanka, with Semini Alwis dipping 3 and Hasitha Mendis netting 1.

Zambia could not engineer a first win of this tournament against Fiji who beat them 59-51 on Monday. Goal shooter Lucy Jere scored 31 goals for the African side, Diana Banda 16 and Elizabeth Bwalya 4, but that was not enough for them to taste a first victory. The Fijians, pursuing their first win, had Taraima Mitchell score 41 goals and goal attack Unouna Afa Rusivakula contribute 18 goals to the win for the islanders.

Finally, Uganda's She Cranes' winning run came to an end as they saw Wales have a slight edge over them in a 97-goal thriller inside the Allphones Arena in Sydney.


World Cup past winners

true


Australia (the Diamonds), the hosts of the 14th edition of the Netball World Cup going on in Sydney, have stood out as the runaway achievers of this tournament, having won 10 titles so far. Their closest challengers, and arch rivals, are New Zealand (Silver Ferns) who have won the tournament four times, including being joint winners with Australia and Trinidad and Tobago in 1979 -- the last time Uganda had taken part.
 

true
 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});