Johannesburg - Unlike John Mcclane, SPAR Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi won’t have to do it all alone, nor – hopefully – try and reconcile with an estranged partner and family members while doing it.
Mcclane, if you can recall, is the protagonist of seminal 1980s action movie Die Hard; and when a group of terrorists … apologies … highly sophisticated thieves storm the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles to steal $640m worth of untraceable bearer bonds, it’s up to the plucky, unassuming, underdog, everyday man cop from New York to take down the thugs, save his wife and her colleagues and enjoy – one would assume – Christmas dinner with his family afterwards.
In a lot of ways, if you squint just right, there are parallels between Mcclane and Msomi’s stories. Why all this talk of Die Hard and Mcclane, you ask?
Well, it’s because it just happens to be the 35-year-old Msomi’s favourite movie.
Today marks 60 days until the Netball World Cup starts in Cape Town, and like Mcclane, Msomi will be hoping to dish out some classic one-liners every time the Proteas achieve an important milestone in their journey. Perhaps a “Yippee-kay-yay (insert expletive about your mom here)” every so often, or a “come to the coast, we’ll get together, we’ll have a few laughs,” now and then.
With a rapturous and partisan crowd backing the Proteas’ every move during the tournament, one can imagine Msomi to deadeye her opponents, and utter: “Welcome to the party, pal.”
Mcclane endured his character arc shoeless as a one-man army. Msomi won’t, as she will have her friends, family and teammates around her as she leads the Proteas to the goal of securing at least a third-place finish in this iteration of the World Cup.
As skipper, Msomi will carry the mantle of responsibility should the team come up short, and she will also be the voice of reason, calm and inspiration to help push her team to greater honours. Luckily, Msomi is surrounded by a core of veterans that will help carry that burden.
That includes the likes of vice-captain Karla Pretorius, Phumza Maweni, Lenize Potgieter and Izette Griesel. Alongside Msomi, they will have the important task of keeping youngsters Nicholé Taljaard, Elmere van der Berg, Sesandile Owethu Ngubane, Nicola Smith and Jeante Strydom nerveless when the big moments arrive.
“This group is a great bunch,” Msomi explained in an exclusive interview with Independent Media last week.
“I have been blessed to lead players who are leaders in their own space. If everyone is just themselves, then it is quite easy for me … We have been really working well together as a group. We don’t just say unity is important in this space. We physically show that it happens. Anyone who comes into this space enjoys our set-up.
“I heard a few girls saying that they come ‘home’ from their provincial teams (when they join the Proteas). They come to the national team, where they think they must be shy or scared, but it feels more homely. I love that idea because people who come into this space must be free and feel protected, so that they can be able to perform at their top standards.
“Looking at the team,” she added, “jeez, I really think we have a great squad. It is really going to be amazing to see us bringing the hard work together, ticking all the boxes as a group. It is a great honour and we are aware that it comes with a whole lot of expectation. When you play at international level and you represent your country, there is a lot at stake.”
Four of the squad’s most experienced and well-travelled veterans –Pretorius, Potgieter, Shadine van der Merwe and Ina-mari Venter – will join their teammates only in mid-july as they complete domestic leagues abroad and take some rest thereafter.
Msomi is not concerned about how they will slot into the team dynamics. Rather, she is confident they will only inspire the very best from the team when they finally do.
Said Msomi: “The girls that are coming in from overseas, they have been a part of this squad for all these years.
“Some of them have played three World Cups and this is going to be their fourth. That is experience coming back. We are not starting something new but building on what we have worked on already. We have a bunch of new stars coming on board,” she continued, “quite exciting talent, and that is what we are embracing as a group.”
While the four international-based players continue their preparations in Australia and England, the rest of the squad, including Msomi, will turn their focus to the Telkom Netball League.
“The second leg starts on June 1,” she said, “and all of us will be split into our provinces. We will finish the league at the end of June and then we go back to camp in the first and second week of July. Everyone will be together, including the girls that are overseas. When we get together, that is when we will take on the tactical part, whilst right now we are focusing on our strength and conditioning.”
The Proteas start their world cup campaign in Group C against Wales on July 28 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. They then face Sri Lanka the next day and finish off the preliminary stage one phase against Jamaica on Sunday.
Depending on how they fare, they will then hope to have a favourable draw in the preliminary stage two. If their results are good enough, they will progress to the semi-finals and contest for a podium finish.
Overcoming those hurdles, and Msomi can shoot her mouth off with one more one-liner as she and the team look to topple the heavyweights of the game: “Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the a**.”
@FreemanZAR