The Vitality Roses will welcome South Africa for a three-match Test series in February, with every fixture broadcast live on Sky Sports. The encounters will form a crucial part of England's build-up to the 2027 Netball World Cup, scheduled to take place across late August and early September in Australia.
England, positioned third in the world rankings, will compete against fifth-ranked South Africa across two venues. The opening two matches will be staged at Wembley Arena in London on February 6 and 7, before the series moves to Leicester's Mattioli Arena for the final Test on February 10.
The two nations have a recent competitive history. At this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, England's Vitality Roses narrowly defeated the Proteas 58-54 in their final pool encounter, which proved decisive in determining who progressed to the semi-finals. However, when the sides met for a Test series in January 2026, South Africa emerged victorious 2-1, clinching the deciding match 65-50 in Johannesburg.
Prior to facing South Africa in the new year, England will undertake a home-and-away fixture schedule against Jamaica during the autumn months.
Fran Connolly, chief executive of England Netball, outlined the significance of the upcoming series.
This international series against South Africa forms an important part of our preparations ahead of the Netball World Cup. We now have two opportunities to test ourselves against world-class nations, including fixtures at home and away, that will put us in the best position possible heading into the summer. We're looking forward to welcoming South Africa and feeling the support of a home crowd behind us.
Mami Diale, president of Netball South Africa, echoed the importance of the contest for her team's World Cup preparations.
Playing the Vitality Roses at a time like this is very important for us - this allows us to gauge our state of readiness ahead of the World Cup. We have faced England a few times recently and it is always a spectacle. Playing teams that are ranked in the top five is very important because it allows us an opportunity to measure in terms of how far we are, what we need to work on and what we are doing right.
England's preparations for the 2027 World Cup come as the sport continues to grow domestically. Manchester will host the 2031 Netball World Cup after England secured hosting rights for the third time, with the tournament taking place at Co-op Live and featuring 16 teams competing.
Fixture details
February 6: England vs South Africa at Wembley Arena, London
February 7: England vs South Africa at Wembley Arena, London
February 10: England vs South Africa at Mattioli Arena, Leicester
