CAPE TOWN – The Vitality Roses will host South Africa for a three-match test series, starting in Manchester before heading to Nottingham for back-to-back weekend games.
The news comes just two weeks before the two sides begin their World Cup campaigns in Cape Town on Friday 28 July.
Earlier this year, sold-out crowds turned out to watch the Vitality Roses claim victory over the Commonwealth Games silver medallists’ Jamaica including just under 7,000 fans in Manchester.
This will be the first chance to see England play on home soil after the World Cup against one of the world’s best netball nations.
At the Netball Quad Series in January, the two sides played out a dramatic draw in the group stage before the Vitality Roses claimed a seven-goal win over the SPAR Proteas in the third-place play-off.
“With the World Cup just a couple of weeks away, we’re excited to already have our next fix of international netball lined up for the end of the year against world-class opposition,” said Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball.
“Kicking on from last summer, we saw at the start of the year just how passionate people are about the Roses with tremendous crowds in Manchester and London for our Jamaica series.
“As we take our sport forward to bigger arenas across the country, we hope we can encourage more people to enjoy the incredible atmosphere of our events.”
Vitality Netball International Series Fixtures:
Tuesday 5 December, 19:00 – AO Arena, Manchester
Saturday 9 December, 17:00 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Sunday 10 December, 14:00 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Source: England Netball
