As the SPAR Proteas prepare for the Netball World Cup (NWC) in Liverpool in July, they can take some confidence from the knowledge that they are the only country, apart from Australia and New Zealand, to have reached the final of the world competition.

South Africa achieved this in 1995, on their return to the World Netball Championships after 25 years of sporting isolation. They came up against the 1991 silver medallists, New Zealand, in the first round.

It was a hard-fought match from which South Africa emerged victorious by the narrow margin of 59 goals to 57.

South Africa topped Group B and went through the second round unbeaten and then met Australia in the final.

The Aussie Diamonds proved a bridge too far, and the netballers' hopes of following in the footsteps of the rugby Springboks, who had won the Rugby World Cup earlier in the year, came crashing down as Australia won 68-48.

However, the New Zealand Silver Ferns have generally proved to be too much for the Proteas in world competitions.

In the first Netball World tournament in Eastbourne in England in 1963, the Silver Ferns thrashed the South Africans 60-13.

In Singapore, in 2011, the Silver Ferns and the Proteas once again met in the quarterfinals, with the Silver Ferns winning 58-28. New Zealand came agonisingly close to breaking Australia's domination, losing the final by one goal (57-58) and South Africa returned to fifth place, after beating Malawi 52-50.

Although New Zealand has generally held the upper hand, a much-improved Proteas side forced the Silver Ferns into extra time in their last encounter, in a Quad Series match in London.

The Proteas will go into the World Cup with an extra spring in their steps, after such a dingdong battle against the perennial World Cup silver medallists.