RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - Johannesburg finished top of the log at the end of the round robin phase of the 2023 Spar National Netball Championships at Hoërskool Rustenburg on Thursday.
The defending champions remained unbeaten at the end of the fourth day. Their only hiccup was a 49-all draw against Mangaung on Tuesday, when they overcame a five-goal deficit in the final minutes.

RUSTENBURG HERALD – RUSTENBURG – Mangaung returned to winning ways on the third day of the Spar National Netball Championships at Hoërskool Rustenburg on Wednesday. In their morning match, they beat Nelson Mandela Bay 58-43 after leading 25-16 at halftime. But their afternoon match was a nailbiter. They trailed Tshwane, last year’s runners up, for most of the match, but snatched a one goal victory in the dying moments. At halftime, Tshwane were nine goals ahead (33-24) but the team from the Free State reduced the deficit to four in the third quarter (41-37) and then won the match by 54 goals to 53.
Johannesburg continued their march to the semifinals with victories over log leaders Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Cape Winelands. Playing in intense heat, with the thermometer touching 36°C, Dr Kenneth Kaunda appeared to be gaining ground on Johannesburg and were just two goals behind at halftime (27-25) but Johannesburg came back strongly in the third quarter, scoring 13 goals while restricting Dr Kenneth Kaunda to just four. Dr Kenneth Kaunda had a better final quarter but Johannesburg clinched the victory 52-39.
In their late afternoon match, Johannesburg beat Cape Winelands 61-46. In other matches on Wednesday, Cape Winelands beat Buffalo City 75-30 and Nelson Mandela Bay beat Cape Town 47-46, after trailing 22-25 at halftime. 
Mangaung, Johannesburg and Dr Kenneth Kaunda appear set for the semifinals, with Tshwane and Cape Winelands fighting it out for the fourth spot. A feature of this tournament has been the close contests between the top five teams, in the absence of the Spar national squad, who are preparing for a tour of Australia later this month.
Tickets for the games will be available at the venue – R20 for adults and R10 for children. Selected matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 4/Channel 209 (2-7 October).

RUSTENBURG HERALD - PARIS, FRANCE - SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus said on Monday he was comfortable with the Springboks’ log position after wrapping up their group phase of the Rugby World Cup with a 49-18 victory over Tonga on Sunday, to put them at the top of Pool B.
The Springboks have 15 log points after four games. Ireland and Scotland – who face off in what will be a pool decider on Saturday – are on 14 and 10 points respectively. Erasmus explained a series of permutations that could come into play.

RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - RUSTENBURG HERALD – RUSTENBURG - More than a hundred teams are taking part in the 2023 Spar National Netball Championships which started at Hoërskool Rustenburg on Monday. This is the biggest netball tournament ever in South Africa and Netball South Africa (NSA) President Cecilia Molokwane says this is proof that netball is growing every year. Fifty-two under-21 teams and fifty-nine senior teams will be fighting it out for top honours.  Defending champions Johannesburg got off to the best possible start in the 2023 Spar National Netball Championships at Hoërskool Rustenburg on Monday with thumping victories in the two matches they played.

RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - The excitement of the Netball World Cup followed by Varsity Netball is over, but there is still plenty for netball fans to enjoy, as the annual Spar National Championships begin in Rustenburg on 2 October. The good news is that select matches are to be televised live on SuperSport.
The Spar National Championships are traditionally played in August, to coincide with Women’s Month and National Women’s Day, but had to be postponed this year because of the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in August. Up to 1800 players will descend on Hoërskool Rustenburg for a feast of netball, with the Under-21 championships being played alongside the senior tournament.