It’s two matches and two wins for Team SA’s netballers who proved too good for Tonga in their Pool A match at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, less than 24 hours after they’d opened their Glasgow campaign with a strong victory over Malawi.
Pool A houses heavyweights in Australia, England and South Africa, with the top two going through to the semi-finals, and while general consensus was that it would be the Aussies and the English who would emerge as the top two, Team SA have arrived and mean business.
They had former captain, now Team SA chef de mission Bongi Msomi, in the stands at The Hydro as they routed the over-matched Tongans 96-42. She will have liked what she has seen so far. After two games, Australia lead South Africa by a slender five-goal margin. On Tuesday Team SA players Northern Ireland, but then it’s the pool blockbusters against Australia (Wednesday) and England (Thursday) in what will decide the semi-finalists.
The 96 points racked up by Team SA is a Commonwealth Games record for them.
Team SA opened up a 26-15 lead after the first quarter and stretched it out to 51-23 at half-time. The third quarter was a bit quieter (21-12), before they raced away with the final quarter 24-7. Rolene Streutker scored 51 goals, with Sammy Ngubane getting 34 and Kamogelo Maseko 11.
Photo: NIC BOTHMA/Team SA