Team SA’s netballers made history at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday evening, setting a new scoring record with a dominant 96-42 victory over Tonga.
The performance broke South Africa‘s previous highest score at the Games, which stood at 92 goals.
South Africa entered that match full of confidence following an opening win against Malawi on Saturday. In contrast, Tonga was coming off a defeat to world number one Australia.
Entering their second match of the tournament- and only their second meeting overall since the 2023 Netball World Cup- head coach Jenny van Dyk decided to refresh the starting lineup with several team changes.
The decision paid off immediately as South Africa opened the scoring and put Tonga under instant pressure.
Attackers Owethu Ngubane and Rolene Streutker linked up smoothly, driving the Proteas to a 26-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.
South Africa maintained the intensity into the second quarter.
The team faced a brief setback midway through the period when goalkeeper Nicola Smith was forced off with an injury, but the Proteas adapted quickly. By halftime, they had extended their advantage to a comfortable 51-23.
Coach Van Dyk continued to make tactical adjustments at the start of the second half, introducing Refiloe Nketsa and Karla Victor while a recovered Nicola Smith returned to the court.
Tonga put up a stronger fight in the third quarter, improving their attacking play. However, South Africa remained in full control of the contest, scoring another 21 goals to keep the game well out of reach.
Further squad rotation in the final quarter saw Jamie van Wyk and Kamogelo Maseko replace Karla Pretorius and Rolene Streutker.
The substitutes kept up the team’s momentum until the final whistle. Defensively, Van Wyk and Smith combined to hold Tonga to just seven goals in the fourth quarter. Up front, Maseko and Ngubane poured in 21 goals to secure the record-breaking 96-42 win.
Following two demanding matches in two days, South Africa enjoys a rest day on Monday. The Proteas will return to the court on Tuesday to face Northern Ireland at 15h00.
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