Glasgow – South Africa’s netball team defeated Uganda 62 – 54 at the 2026 Commonwealth Games at The Hydro.
Apart from bragging rights, the win on Friday, 31 July 2026, saw South Africa finish 5th – an improvement on their 2022 performance.
The tournament featured 12 nations including: Australia, England, South Africa, Malawi, Tonga, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Jamaica, Wales, Uganda, Scotland (hosts), and Trinidad & Tobago.
For the second consecutive time in four years, two African giants met for the classification match.
The last time the two teams met in Birmingham, Uganda emerged victorious.
This time around, South Africa triumphed.
Coach Jenny van Dyk started with a slightly different line-up from the one that lost to England on Thursday night.
Karla Pretorius, Owethu Ngubane and Tarle Mathe started on the bench in the game against Uganda.
With bragging rights and pride on the line, South Africa got off to a flying start.
The South Africans led the opening quarter for a good 10 minutes before Uganda settled and began to claw their way back.
At the end of the quarter, it was Uganda that led 17 -12.
South Africa’s Tarle Mathe took to court at the start of the second quarter in place of Nketsa at Centre.
South Africa found their mojo back in the second half and took the game to Uganda; they made sure to capitalise on the errors Uganda made, and they took the quarter 20 – 11. South Africa went into half-time leading 32 -28.
The start of the third quarter saw both sides evenly matched from the first whistle – the two exchanged blows, and South Africa narrowly won the quarter 16 – 13, taking the overall lead of 48 -41.
Both teams slowed down the tempo of the game – a lot of tired bodies on court after an intense three quarters.
South Africa remained disciplined throughout the quarter.
Score Breakdown:
Q1 South Africa 12 – 17 Uganda
Q2 South Africa 20 – 11 Uganda
Q3 South Africa 16 – 13 Uganda
Q4 South Africa 14 – 13 Uganda
Overall score – South Africa 54 -58 Uganda
The post Netball: South Africa Beat Uganda 62 – 54 To Finish 5th At The 2026 Commonwealth Games appeared first on The Bulrushes.
