Spar Proteas Prepare to Challenge World Champions in Australia for Netball Series

Pretoria – Netball South Africa has officially revealed that the SPAR Proteas will travel to Australia for a three-match test series against the reigning World Champions in October.

The first match of the series is set to occur at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena on the evening of Saturday, 4 October 2025 (19h30).

The most recent clash between the SPAR Proteas and the Australian Diamonds took place in 2023, also in Australia, where the home team claimed victory.

This series marks the first standalone Test series between the two nations “Down Under” in 18 years.

SPAR Proteas Head Coach Jenny van Dyk shared her enthusiasm, stating, “We are excited to compete against the world champions in a three-test series in Australia.”

“This is an important phase for our team’s development, allowing us to benchmark ourselves against the best, set our standards, and work towards our objectives.”

“We’re ready to give our all.”

Historically, South Africa and Australia have met 46 times, with Australia winning every test match played to date.

However, in recent years, especially due to the influence of former Australian Head Coach Norma Plummer—who led the SPAR Proteas from 2015-2019 and again in 2022-2023—South Africa has greatly closed the scoring gap against the world number one team and has become a strong contender.

Some memorable performances from South Africa include their showing during the Quad Series in London in 2018, where the Diamonds triumphed over the SPAR Proteas 54-50, and the narrow loss in the 2019 Netball World Cup semi-final in Liverpool, which Australia won by just 2 points (55-53) in the final seconds.

Australian Diamonds Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich remarked, “The series against South Africa is a vital part of our preparations as we look ahead to significant campaigns like the Constellation Cup, the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney.”

“Every game is crucial, and we’re looking forward to starting this journey against the SPAR Proteas in Bendigo.”

The specific locations for the second and third tests of the Australian vs South Africa series will be announced shortly by the hosts, Netball Australia.

South Africa vs Australia head-to-head stats:

• 2018 = Australia 54-50 South Africa (London)
• 2018 = Australia 60-38 South Africa (Gold Coast)
• 2018 = Australia 61-44 South Africa (Auckland)
• 2019 = Australia 62-45 South Africa (Liverpool)
• 2019 = Australia 55-53 South Africa (Liverpool)
• 2022 = Australia 60-40 South Africa (London)
• 2022 = Australia 74-49 South Africa (Birmingham)
• 2023 = Australia 65-48 South Africa (Cape Town)
• 2023 = Australia 62-43 South Africa (Cairns)
• 2023 = Australia 67-52 South Africa (Hobart)
• 2023 = Australia 77-50 South Africa (Hobart)

Total games played: 46

Proteas won: 0

Diamonds won: 46

Drew: 0

Proteas total goals scored: 1787

Diamonds total goals scored: 3114

Average score: Diamonds 68-39 Proteas

Proteas smallest losing margin: 2 goals (53-55) in 2019 in Liverpool.

Diamonds biggest winning margin: 61 goals (89-28) in 1999 in Sydney.

Most goals scored by Proteas: 53 (53-55) in 2019 in Liverpool.

Most goals scored by Diamonds: 89 (89-28) in 1999 in Sydney.