With the FIH Hockey World Cup looming, the series has provided the South African women with valuable game time. They once again showed encouraging signs as they outclassed their neighbours for a third successive match.

Onthatile Zulu captained the side and led from the front as South Africa exploded out of the blocks, effectively putting the result beyond doubt within the opening five minutes.

Hannah Pearce and Taheera Augousti. Photo: ACK Sports Photography

The hosts opened the scoring in just the second minute when Hannah Pearce confidently converted a penalty stroke to continue her outstanding goalscoring form in the series.

South Africa barely allowed Namibia time to regroup before doubling their advantage. Stephanie Botha split the defence with an incisive pass that released Zulu, who calmly finished to mark her captaincy with a well-executed goal.

The relentless early pressure continued as the home side added a third goal moments later. Zulu shaped to shoot inside the circle, but the ball ran through to Bianca Wood, who made no mistake with a composed finish to cap a breathtaking opening spell.

Having established a commanding lead, South Africa controlled possession for long periods and controlled the tempo. While they created several promising attacking opportunities, Namibia gradually settled into the contest and defended with greater discipline to frustrate the hosts for much of the remaining three quarters.

South Africa eventually added a fourth goal in the final quarter when Pearce stepped up to convert her second penalty stroke of the game.

To their credit, Namibia continued to battle until the final whistle and were rewarded for their persistence when Charlize Rix beat Marlise van Tonder late in the Test to score her side's first goal of the series.

Shanna Mendonca. Photo: ACK Sports Photography

The victory means South Africa have already wrapped up the series with one match still to play, extending their winning run to three from three. More importantly, the performances have given the coaching staff plenty of positives as they fine-tune combinations and build momentum ahead of the Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands in little under a month from now.

The fourth and final Test between the two sides will be played at Hartleyvale on Friday, with the first pass scheduled for 14:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek sm