Helen Housby: Whenever England play South Africa it's always a grudge match
Ahead of a three-match series against South Africa in Johannesburg, England star Helen Housby explains why this is "a huge moment on and off the court"; Watch the Vitality Roses against South Africa live on Sky Sports Youtube from 4pm on Thursday
Thursday 29 January 2026 08:16, UK
England star Helen Housby is looking for the Vitality Roses to make a statement in a “huge” series against South Africa this week.
The first match against the South Africa SPAR Proteas in Johannesburg starts at 4pm on Thursday, live on Sky Sports YouTube.
Two more matches follow on Saturday and Sunday.
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"I've had experiences that were not that fun in South Africa," Housby told Sky Sports.
"They have some amazing players and they can be super disciplined with the way they play the game and they're just ranked only just below us in the world stage. So it's always a grudge match whenever we play them.
"England and South Africa have traditionally been two of the teams that have been on the cusp of finals and gold medals and have been fighting for their place in world netball.
"I know firsthand just how great they can be on home soil. They always have incredible crowds. Jo'burg itself is sometimes quite difficult to play because it does have a little bit of elevation which sometimes you feel in the lungs.
"But I think the girls are in a really good place and are looking quite sharp so fingers crossed we can put our best foot forward."
She is, though, relishing the occasion. "The great crowd, the arena that we're going to be playing in, it almost feels like they're on top of you and the pressure is huge. I love that. I love feeling those big occasions. It's always super special but it does make it very difficult to come here and to play at your best. That's something we're definitely going to be striving towards," Housby said.
This series will be vital for England as they prepare for the Commonwealth Games later in 2026
"It's the last competitive matches that we're going to play [before Glasgow] and it's against great opposition in a hostile environment. So it really couldn't be much better for us. And we're likely to come up against teams of this calibre in Comm Games and under this kind of pressure," Housby said.
"For us, starting off the year how we mean to go on is important, and getting some good wins on the board would be huge. But I think more than that, solidifying our combinations and really nailing how we want to play as team to start off 2026 is super important.
"It's a huge moment for us on and off the court."
Watch the Vitality Roses against South Africa live on Sky Sports Youtube from 4pm on Thursday.
