Netball South Africa announced that the SPAR Proteas will travel to Australia for a three-match test series against the reigning World Champions in October.
The series will open at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena on Saturday evening, 4 October 2025 (19h30 AEST).
The last series between the SPAR Proteas and Australian Diamonds was played in 2023, also in Australia, which the hosts won. It was the first standalone Test series between the two nations “Down Under” in 18 years.
SPAR Proteas Head Coach Jenny van Dyk said, “We are delighted to take on the world champions in a three-test series in Australia. This is a crucial part of our growth as a team, allowing us to test ourselves against the best, set our standards, and work towards our goals. We are excited to get out there and give it our all.”
South Africa and Australia have played each other 46 times, with Australia winning all test matches played. However, in recent years, and largely credit to former Australian Head Coach Norma Plummer, who took over as coach of the SPAR Proteas in 2015-2019 and again in 2022-2023, South Africa have narrowed the score line against the world number one team and proven a challenge to the world champs.
The most notable efforts by South Africa were at the Quad Series in London is 2018 where The Diamonds beat the SPAR Proteas 54-50 and the antagonising loss by South Africa to Australia in the 2019 netball World Cup semi-final in Liverpool which Australia won by 2 points 55-53 in the dying minutes of the game.
Origin Australian Diamonds Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich said, “The series against South Africa is a key part of our preparation as we build toward major campaigns like the Constellation Cup and, looking ahead, the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and 2027 netball World Cup in Sydney. Every match count and we’re excited to start that journey against the SPAR Proteas in Bendigo.”
The location of the second and third Australian vs South Africa test Series matches will be announced shortly by the hosts, Netball Australia.
Broadcast information to be announced.
