It is predicted that South Africa will find it tough from tomorrow to win the Netball World Cup Tournament in Liverpool.

In a tournament guide published in the Guardian newspaper, it was written the Proteas would end up finishing fifth.  The reasoning is that the team finds it in the tough situation of needing to beat either England or Jamaica to make the semi-finals. 

Had they found themselves up against New Zealand, they would have been more confident, but the other side of the draw doesn't look so friendly for the South Africans. 

The Proteas best result at the World Cup Tournament was in 1995 when they were the runners-up. 

Erin Burger, a former Tuks player and now a coach at the club, is quietly confident that she and her teammates could surprise. She did not want to commit to making specific predictions but casually hinted that the scoreboard will have the last say. 

The Proteas most capped player's confidence sprouts from pure passion. 

"For everyone, there is no more significant honour than playing for South Africa. Over the last four years, we might have lacked in many ways compared to what happens in Australia, New Zealand and England, but I think that made us hungrier to succeed. 

"Over December, many of us decided not to go on holiday but instead to focus on getting fitter and to hone our individual skills. It was not seen as a sacrifice. It was a pure passion that made us decide to do so," explained Burger, who has represented the Proteas in 115 games. It is the most by any South African player.

Another reason for the former Tuks player’s confidence is that she feels that the team is continuously learning from the mistakes made in previous games. As an example, she referred to the Proteas encounter against Jamaica during last year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. 

"We outplayed them during the first three quarters, but unfortunately during the last15 minutes, we made to many mistakes. It led to us losing by 11 goals. We now realise that no game is won or lost until the final whistle blows.

"I am genuinely excited about how we played in the last Quad-series. We were genuinely competitive managing to beat England for the first time and only lost to New Zealand by two goals."

The Proteas starts their World Cup campaign tomorrow by playing against Trinidad&Tobogo (18:25). Sunday will be a big game as they are up against Jamaica. Burger believes it is a winnable game. 

"Jhaniele Fowler is undoubtedly one of the best goal shooters in international netball. Luckily for us, Carla Pretorius has been consistently good this season. She and Phumza Maweni got to hone their defensive combination playing for the Sunshine Coast Lightning team in the Australian Super Netball Series." 

The Proteas's other pool game is on Saturday against Fidji.