Thursday, August 3
•Australia 55-56 England
•Wales 79-55 Trinidad & Tobago
•Fiji 46-62 Scotland
•Jamaica 59-48 New Zealand
•South Africa 52-50 Uganda
•Tonga 51-56 Malawi
Friday, August 4
•Malawi Vs Uganda, 5pm
•Tonga Vs South Africa, 7pm
She Cranes came close to a stunning victory over hosts South Africa in a thrilling African derby at the ongoing 2023 Netball World Cup.
The She Cranes who trailed by 33-19 at halftime, fought back incredibly before losing by just two goals, 50-52.
The defeat means that Uganda finish fourth in the group, and alongside third placed South Africa, will fight for 5-8th positions in classification games.
The She Cranes will face the third placed team in Group F which is Malawi while South Africa will meet the 4th side in that very group (Tonga).
And if both Uganda and South Africa win their respective classification games, the two will face off to determine who finish fifth and sixth in the tournament.
The semifinals of the tournament are already determined; England meet defending Champions New Zealand while Jamaica will face off with Australia for a place in the final.
Gallant She Cranes Push South Africa to the Wire
At one moment, it looked like the She Cranes were on course for a sweeping loss.
The team was struggling at either side of the court as South Africa, cheered on by a big home crowd, turned on the heat.
Uganda were without Centre Margaret Baagala, and Lilian Achola and Irene Eyalu struggled in the big boots against a Spar Proteas side that needed to win by a big margin to confirm a place in the semifinal.
But when Coach Fred Mugerwa brought on Shadiah Nassanga at Goal Attack, with Eyalu dropping to Wing Attack, the She Cranes started to tick.
And they scored seven unanswered goals before finishing the third quarter just four goals behind.
The She Cranes continued to put pressure on South Africa and tied the game 42-all minutes into the fourth.
A couple of turnovers and a blocked goal-attempt on Nassanga that would have made it 49-49, gave South Africa a reprieve.
Christine Nakitto made a timely steal but Uganda lost possession through Achola turnover for South Africa to open a two-goal lead.
South Africa miscued a pass that went out of bounds, and with the clock expiring, Mary Nuba had a quick layup dramatically ruled out, before the final time buzzer sounded.
Coach Fred Mugerwa and a couple of She Cranes players were left disappointed with the officiating, but in them exhibited a sense of contentment about their great fight that just came short.
Mary Nuba (29) and Shadiah Nassanga (21) combined to scored Uganda’s 50 goals
Ine-Marí Venter scored 26 goals for South Africa who ensured their revenge to Uganda after last year’s defeat in Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
