2016 Diamond Challenge

The 2016 Diamond Challenge was the fourth Diamond Challenge netball series. It featured South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe and a Netball South Africa President's XII. The series was played in October 2016 at the Westville Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.^[1] With a team coached by Norma Plummer and captained by Bongiwe Msomi, South Africa won the series. South Africa finished the series undefeated, winning all four matches. In the final they defeated Zimbabwe 68–34.^[1][2][3] Zimbabwe, 21st in the World Netball Rankings, qualified for the final and caused an upset when they beat Uganda, ranked 8th, 42–39 in their final group stage match.^[4] The series was broadcast live on SuperSport in South Africa.^[1]

2016 Diamond Challenge

Tournament details
Host country	South Africa
City	Durban
Venue(s)	Westville Campus University of KwaZulu-Natal
Dates	2–5 October 2016
Teams	4
TV partner(s)	SuperSport (South Africa)
Final positions
Champions	South Africa
Runners-up	Zimbabwe
Third place	Uganda
← 2015 2018 →

Head coaches and captains

Team	Head coach	Captain
South Africa[1]	Norma Plummer	Bongiwe Msomi
Uganda	Rashid Mubiru[5]	Irene Eyaru[6]
Zimbabwe		Perpetua Siyachitema[4][7]
President's XII		Elsunet du Plessis[1]

South Africa squad

South Africa roster
Players	Coaches
Name Pos DOB Height Club Nat Caps Erin Burger C, WA, WD (1987-02-10)10 February 1987 (aged 29) 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) Southern Stings Sigrid Burger GA, GS (1996-02-23)23 February 1996 (aged 20) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) North West Flames Izette Lubbe C, WA (1992-07-12)12 July 1992 (aged 24) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Gauteng Jaguars Phumza Maweni GK, GD (1984-09-04)4 September 1984 (aged 32) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Kingdom Stars Karla Mostert (vc) GD,WD (1990-03-12)12 March 1990 (aged 26) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Free State Crinums Bongiwe Msomi (c) WA, C (1988-01-19)19 January 1988 (aged 28) 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) Kingdom Stars Precious Mthembu C, WD (1984-07-11)11 July 1984 (aged 32) 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) Kingdom Stars Lenize Potgieter GS, GA (1994-05-02)2 May 1994 (aged 22) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Gauteng Jaguars Juline Rossouw GD (1992-01-03)3 January 1992 (aged 24) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Renske Stoltz GA, GS (1994-04-19)19 April 1994 (aged 22) 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) North West Flames Vanes-Mari du Toit GK, GS (1989-08-02)2 August 1989 (aged 27) 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Yorkshire Jets Zanele Vimbela GD, GK (1989-04-28)28 April 1989 (aged 27) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Eastern Cape Aloes	Head coach Norma Plummer Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player
Player profiles: Team website	Last updated: 22 October 2024

Group stage

Round 1

2 October 2016	President's XII	55–50	Uganda
16:00

2 October 2016	South Africa	70–35	Zimbabwe
18:00

Sources:^[6][7]

Round 2

3 October 2016	South Africa	59–27	Uganda
18:00

3 October 2016	President's XII	57–32	Zimbabwe
20:00

Sources:^[5][8]

Round 3

4 October 2016	Zimbabwe	42–39	Uganda

4 October 2016	South Africa	56–35	President's XII

Source:^[4]

Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Africa	3	3	0	0	185	97	88	6
2	President's XII (Note 1)	3	2	1	0	147	138	9	4
3	Zimbabwe	3	1	2	0	109	160	–51	2
4	Uganda	3	0	0	3	116	153	–37	1

  Qualified for Final
  Qualified for 3rd/4th place match

Notes

• ^1 Although the President's XII won more group stage matches, as an unranked team they are not allowed to play in the final of an official tournament.^[4]

Playoffs

3rd v 4th Playoff

5 October 2016	President's XII	54–54	Uganda

Final

5 October 2016	South Africa	68–34	Zimbabwe

Sources:^[2][3]

Final Placings

Rank	Team
1	South Africa
2	Zimbabwe
3	Uganda
3	President's XII