Australia fell to their second successive defeat in pool play at the Fast5 netball world series on Saturday in Auckland, upset by South Africa 40-39 in a thriller.
The Australian Flyers had begun the tournament with two wins but went down to New Zealand at the end of day one.
The Flyers were up 21-9 at halftime against the Proteas but South Africa, seeking their first victory, had a big power play third quarter.
They landed just four goals, but all were six-pointers - three from Chrisna Botha and one from Maryka Holtzhausen.
That put them up 33-27 heading into Australia's power play in the final period.
In a frantic finish, with the lead swapping hands twice, South Africa turned the ball over with 25 seconds to go, but Australia missed with their shot from the ensuing possession.
That left the Flyers with a 2-2 record with their final pool match against Jamaica to come.
Defending champions New Zealand made it three from three in the group phase with a comfortable 48-18 win over Malawi.
It was a match in which the power-play quarters - where goals scored from the one, two or three-point zones are worth double - again proved decisive.
The Fast5 Ferns took by far the greater advantage of theirs, winning the period 20-3, with shooters Maria Tutaia and Cathrine Latu each draining a six-pointer.
New Zealand ended the match having landed seven goals from maximum distance, with Tutaia getting four of them.
Jamaica scored their third win by edging out 2012 runners-up England 36-30 to take their record to 3-1.
Share
