Shock win only helps grow game: Alexander
IT’S taken a long time but international netball finally has a new rivalry.
Not long after watching her side lose their Commonwealth Games gold medal to England, Australian coach Lisa Alexander admits their new rivalry currently surpasses their stoushes with New Zealand.
The Diamonds’ last-second defeat came at the end of a tournament that will also be remembered for the demise of the Silvers Ferns, whose loss to netball minnows Malawi will live in Games folklore.
But the deeper the Kiwis fell – they also lost the bronze to Jamaica by five – the higher the Roses rose.
Asked if the old enemy had become their new one, Alexander said: “No doubt about it, particularly with the World Cup in Liverpool next year.”
Plotting revenge is already on the mind of midfielder Gabi Simpson.
“This will drive us. We know we prepared and we ticked every box but to have this extra fire in your belly is something that we’ll draw on in the future,” she said.
“It hurts a lot now but it’ll make us all the more stronger. They’ve taken it on our turf and that’s where we’ll set our mind to, (England).”
England’s triumph over the Commonwealth will only fuel the debate of whether imports should be allowed in Super Netball, with five of their players featuring the Aussie league.