Van der Berg helps Proteas into 5th place playoff by bagging 51 points in win over Tonga

Elmeré van der Berg starred for the Proteas as they outclassed a spirited Tonga in their Netball World Cup playoff encounter at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Friday.

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South Africa will now play Uganda for fifth or sixth place on Sunday (time TBC)

In a not-so-crowded CTICC, with Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in the stands, the Proteas sealed a 72-46 win against the Tongans.

It was an unusual and shaky first quarter, with Ine-Marí Venter struggling to find the net as she only made five shots in nine attempts with Van der Berg eventually replacing her as the sides were level at 12-12.

Van der Berg and Nichole Taljaard's partnership soon thrived in the second quarter as the former went unblemished, scoring 14 goals in 14 attempts.

The Proteas went into half-time with an eight-point lead. In the third quarter, South Africa started to run away with the game as they won the quarter 17-13.

It was the final quarter, however, that they dominated possession and kept the leaderboard ticking through Van der Berg.

Van der Berg was duly awarded player of the match, scoring 51 shots in 54 attempts for a 94% success rate.

More to follow...