Silver Ferns waver a little
Two games, two wins. That’s what the Silver Ferns would have wanted to start Janine Southby’s tenure as coach, and that’s what they’ve got, after beating South Africa 65-46 in Hamilton last night in their second game of the Quad Series.
But when put as simply as that, their record doesn’t show that the two wins followed performances vastly different in their nature.
Against England on Saturday the Ferns were in total control as they racked up a 26-goal margin but, against South Africa this time around, they were off the boil for long stretches, before easing away towards the end.
Grace Rasmussen returned from illness at wing attack, with Shannon Francois moving back to centre, Laura Langman to wing defence, and Kayla Cullen shifting to the bench.
The rearranged midcourt was disjointed in the first quarter, with each of them making several errors as they tried to press forward, both on attack and on defence. As a result, they were never able to give shooters Bailey Mes and Ameliaranne Ekenasio the service they would have liked.
The Proteas were a model of composure in contrast, not afraid to pass backwards if that was the best way to find a clear path towards goal, and, at one point, opened up a three-goal lead midway through the quarter,.
Southby rang the changes, bringing on Jane Watson to replace Phoenix Karaka at goal keep, and Cullen at wing defence, with Langman moving forward to replace Francois at centre. Pushing Langman up court seemed to stabilise things somewhat, as the Ferns brought the scores level five minutes into the spell, though the occasional basic error still crept in, such as when Langman threw a centre pass straight into the hands of her South African opposite, Erin Burger, who was standing just a metre away.
That turnover allowed South Africa to open up a small lead again but the Ferns’ defence, led by captain Katrina Grant, stood strong, winning some turnovers of their own to take their first lead, 24-23, with six minutes to go before the break.
From that point, the Ferns never looked back. Having taken the lead, they didn’t let the Proteas back in the game, and at the end of a hard-fought third quarter, they had grown their advantage to eight.
At that stage, an upset was off the table, and the Ferns were able to run up the score.