World’s best netball defender Karla Pretorius reflects on “wonderful” time at Team Bath – “it was such a big part of my journey”

Karla Pretorius, widely regarded as the best defender currently playing in world netball, has been looking back on her time at Team Bath Netball and the massive impact it had on her journey to the top.

Pretorius, nee Mostert, spent the 2016 Superleague season with the Blue & Gold, helping them to a third-placed finish overall. It was the South African’s first experience of playing domestic netball abroad and she quickly found her feet, forging a brilliant defensive partnership with captain Eboni Usoro-Brown and being shortlisted for the league’s Player of the Year award.

Her form also caught the attention of professional clubs in Australia and she joined Sunshine Coast Lightning in 2017, helping them win back-to-back Suncorp Super Netball titles. She was also named as Player of the Tournament at the 2019 Netball World Cup and was this year voted by netball fans into the all-time Suncorp Super Netball team at GD.

Pretorius believes her time at Team Bath was pivotal to the success she has gone on to enjoy, telling The Netball Show: “It was such a big part of my journey and I really enjoyed being in Bath, it is such a wonderful place.

“It was my first taste of semi-professional netball and I got to play alongside some great players like Eboni. I also had great coaches in Jess Thirlby and Anna Stembridge. I am really grateful for that whole experience, it played an important part in what happened next.”

Listen to the full interview, including her thoughts on the Superleague, here: