The South African captain, who played her 100th test for the Proteas in Sunday’s 57-56 loss to the Silver Ferns in Invercargill, plies her trade domestically at the Cardiff Dragons in the Netball Super League.
It is where former Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham landed this season after an 11-year tenure with the ANZ Premiership franchise.
Chawane praised Bloxham as an "amazing" and hard-working coach, who encouraged her to further her game.
“She’s someone that you really want to play for and she’s someone that will always want to push you to get better," Chawane said.
“You want to play for someone like that who wants the best for you.
“We might not have had the greatest season with the Dragons ... but it did not stop her from really pushing us to get better as a team and helping those connections.
“She’s done a lot of work to get us together ... and I think going back now, it should be better for us. She’s such an amazing person."
Chawane, who has been a key player for the Proteas since 2018, was thrilled to bring up 100 games for her country.
“I’m really happy. I say this to everybody, that it just shows how much I’ve been showing up for this team.
“It doesn’t matter where we’re at, ups and downs, all the rollercoasters that we’ve been through. I’m just grateful also from the people that are around me that support me."
South Africa coach Jenny van Dyk said she was proud of the growth her team showed through the three-test series against the Silver Ferns.
“What a brilliant improvement from team South Africa in the past three matches. If anything, if we had more time together, I think you would have seen a different start, but at the end of the day, they make me proud," van Dyk said.
Playing in New Zealand was crucial for their buildup towards the Commonwealth Games.
Van Dyk was rapt the Proteas, ranked fifth in the world, kept the Silver Ferns to eight goals in the opening quarter of the final test — and won the opening half — and asked a “bunch of good questions" of the world No 2 side.
“I’m just so proud of the players to be able to pull that out."
The Proteas now play the Australian Diamonds in a three test series starting tomorrow.
