England to host South Africa in three-Test netball series live on Sky Sports in February as World Cup preparation

England's Vitality Roses will host South Africa in a three-Test netball series in February, with all matches live on Sky Sports.

The games will serve as preparation for the 2027 World Cup in Australia across late August and early September.

England, currently third in the world rankings, will take on fifth-placed South Africa at Wembley Arena in London on February 6 and 7 before the series concludes at Leicester's Mattioli Arena on February 10.

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The Vitality Roses edged the Proteas 58-54 in their final pool game of this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to reach the semi-finals at their opponents' expense.

South Africa had beaten England 2-1 in the sides' previous Test series in January 2026, winning the deciding match 65-50 in Johannesburg.

Before playing the Proteas early next year, England will face Jamaica home and away in the autumn.

Fran Connolly, the chief executive of England Netball said: "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, the president of Netball South Africa added: "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 vs South Africa fixtures

All games live on Sky Sports

• Saturday February 6 (Wembley Arena, London)
• Sunday February 7 (Wembley Arena, London)
• Wednesday February 10 (Mattioli Arena, Leicester)

(c) Sky Sports 2026: England to host South Africa in three-Test netball series live on Sky Sports in February as World Cup preparation