The Gauteng Jaguars (an all Tuks team) coasted to their third consecutive Telkom Netball League title by beating the Western Cape Southern Stings in the final at the University of Pretoria’s Rembrandt Hall on Saturday.
Considering the two sides had claimed a win each against each other in previous matches in this year’s tournament, it was expected to be a much closer contest.
Last year’s final featured the same opposition, and that one could indeed have gone either way, but this time, it was all about the defending champions who powered their way to the 53-38 win to make sure the trophy stayed in Gauteng.
The Jaguars were simply quicker and slicker, and some superb passages of play meant they had already notched up a nine-goal lead by halftime on 28-19.
There was more of the same in the second half, and while the Stings did fight to stay in it, they were just outplayed.
“What a great team and what a great God,” said a thrilled Jaguars coach Jenny van Dyk afterwards.
“It was a fantastic run for us this year. That first loss [against the Stings] really came in handy this year, and I’m just really proud of how the girls stepped up. They’ve just been phenomenal. They played with so much character. I just love them to bits.”
Asked whether she expected a closer final, like last year, Van Dyk reckoned:
“No. It’s easy to say it afterwards, but I knew this year it was going to be an easy one for us in the final because we worked extra hard. So it’s bound to help at one stage or another when you put in all that hard work.”
One of the Jaguars best ever games of the Telkom Tournament was on Friday when they played the Free State Crinums in the semi-final.
Throughout much of the match, goals went with centre pass, and there was never more than a five-goal difference between the teams. The Crinums took the early lead in the first quarter, but the Jaguars came back to lead 13-9 at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Jaguars appeared to be cruising to victory until the Crinums started to get back into the match as a result of some handling mistakes by the Jaguars. With three minutes to go before halftime, the Crinums drew level on 20-all and then took the lead.
There was nothing in it in the third quarter, although the match became very physical and at times resembled a rugby match, with players sprawled on the floor. The Crinums ended the quarter with a lead of 36 goals to 34.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Crinums scored a flurry of unanswered goals, giving them a five-goal lead. It appeared that the Jaguars were heading for their first semi-final defeat, but they responded with three goals on the trot as they clawed their way back.
With six minutes to go, the Jaguars drew level on 43-all. In the final minutes of play, the Jaguars appeared calmer and more disciplined than their opponents. They drew level again on 47-all and then went into the lead.
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