South Africa almost pulled off the biggest upset at the Netball World Cup 2023 on Wednesday when
they drew 48–all against world champions New Zealand in a Pool G match at a crowded CTICC in
Cape Town, encouraged by Banyana Banyana’s victory over Italy to advance to the round of 16 in the
Soccer World Cup.

We were treated to a box office match between the Silver Ferns and the SPAR Proteas.
One of the lowest scores in the opening 15 minutes of any World Cup game may have been put up
by South Africa in the last minutes of the first quarter, when they rallied from a four-goal
disadvantage to lead by just one (10-11) at the half.

The CTICC atmosphere reached a fever pitch when South Africa had four minutes remaining and
needed three goals to make history.

With three seconds left, Taljaard successfully landed in what was likely the most significant goal of
her test career thus far, giving the Proteas a 48-all victory as they rode the wave of incredible
enthusiasm.