SA netballers set new Commonwealth record with Tonga win

The South Africa netball team set a new record on their second match day at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by defeating Tonga 96-42 on Sunday evening. 

Their previous highest score was 92 goals. 

Back-to-back victories & record score for @OfficialTeamRSA at the Commonwealth Games 🇿🇦🔥#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Glasgow2026

📸 @WorldNetball_ / @mai_spe7 pic.twitter.com/lw3ltoVM31

South Africa and Tonga have only met once before during the 2023 Netball World Cup.

South Africa entered the game with high confidence after defeating Malawi the day before while Tonga lost their opening match against world No 1 Australia.

Head Coach Jenny van Dyk made several substitutions from the team that played Malawi.

South Africa scored first and immediately applied pressure on their opponents. The attacking duo of Owethu Ngubane and Rolene Streukter excelled in the first quarter as South Africa took a 26-15 lead.

The second quarter was no different as South Africa continued to exert pressure on Tonga.

A change was made after Goalkeeper Nicola Smith was injured in the middle of the quarter. At the end of the first half, South Africa led 51-23.

Coach Van Dyk made further substitutions at the start of the championship quarter, with the introduction of Refiloe Nketsa, Karla Victor and Nicola Smith returning to the game.

Tonga emerged strongly in the third quarter with their attacking duo putting South Africa under pressure. They scored 12 goals, four more than the previous quarter, while South Africa managed only 21.

South Africa rotated their players with Karla Pretorius and Rolene Streukter making way for Jamie van Wyk and Kamogelo Maseko.

The new additions maintained the momentum. Van Wyk and Smith’s defensive work contained Tonga, restricting them to seven goals. Maseko and Ngubane scored 21 between them in the final quarter.

South Africa will have a rest day on Monday before playing Northern Ireland on Tuesday at 3pm SAST.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

Q1 South Africa 26 – 15 Tonga

Q2 South Africa 25– 08 Tonga

Q3 South Africa 21 – 12 Tonga

Q4 South Africa 24 – 07 Tonga

FINAL SCORE – South Africa 96-42 Tonga