Proteas 2.0 ready for Roses: Chawane hails 'wholesome growth' ahead of England series

Spar Proteas skipper Khanyisa "KC" Chawane has warned England's Vitality Roses that the SA team they will face in the coming Spar Challenge netball series in Johannesburg will be far removed from the side they last faced – fitter and stronger, with more court smarts and tactical savvy.

Proteas 2.0, if you will ...

Jenny van Dyk's fifth-ranked side claimed one win and fourth-ranked England the other in the Nations Cup in the UK at the beginning of last year. Yet the tough series against the world's best netball teams that they have taken part in last year have given Chawane confidence that the SA side can turn the heat up on the Roses on home soil.

While they were not able to beat Jamaica, Australia or New Zealand, the brutal lessons did something to the Proteas, Chawane feels – it made them a more complete team in every aspect.

"It was a wholesome growth – mentally, physically. The series that we've been playing, for example in January against Jamaica, exposed what we needed," she said in an online media briefing ahead of Thursday's opening Test of the three-match series.

"And then when we went into Australia and New Zealand it exposed another part that we felt we were lacking. So we needed a wholesome change, wholesome growth.

"Mentally we needed to go check ourselves in terms of what we needed to do to prepare our minds to face those big guns. At the same time we saw with Australia and New Zealand that we were actually beaten physically. We would have the tempo, we would keep up with them but then when it came to the physical battle it was really something that we lost. So we came back making sure we put in the work in the gym.

"You will see that a lot of girls have actually grown, which made me happy. You could see everyone getting stronger – stronger in the air, stronger on the take on the ball. So it was a wholesome change."

The evolution was not restricted to the physical.

"In terms of the tactical side as well, we saw where the game plan was exposed and where we were beaten, so those were the little changes we were able to make after analysis. So the team actually changed in every aspect and that's what is exciting coming into this series: that physically we've upped our notch, tactically we've upped our notch. In every area we've upped our notch and that will make us match up with England," Chawane said confidently.

With the arch-rivals drawn in the same pool for the Commonwealth Games, the Test series takes on extra significance. The versatile skipper who plays at wing attack or centre feels last year's series offers a clue to what they need to do well to send the home fans into raptures ... and a warning to all their rivals.

"England and South Africa are evenly matched in the circles, in mid-court and in our defence. But I think when you look at the game where we beat England, our defence was out of this world and we as attackers needed to reward our defenders for all the balls that they turned over. The balls that they turned, we were able to punish England on that, and that's how they couldn't beat us. And that's what we're keeping in the back of our minds," she said.

The opening match between the Proteas and the Roses takes place at Ellis Park Arena at 6pm tomorrow, with the remaining matches on Saturday at 5pm and Sunday at 4pm.