Vital series as Silver Ferns seek much-needed boost
On the surface, a series where the Silver Ferns play Malawi, Jamaica and Fiji, isn’t one to get overly excited about.
But when you consider some poor results the Silver Ferns have had over the last year, the losses to Australia and England in January, plus the fact that we’re only a couple of weeks away from the Commonwealth Games, the Taini Jamison Trophy takes on a different perspective.
The four-team competition starts at the North Shore Events Centre in a round-robin format from tonight, with the final at 4pm on Saturday.
Anything less than a tournament victory would be considered a disaster from a New Zealand point of view, but there appears to be a steely resolve in the team not to let anything other than that happen.
‘‘There is so much passion in this camp and the things we said we were going to do, after the Quad Series in January, everyone is doing,’’ Maria Folau said. ‘‘We want everyone to walk the talk, so everyone’s front footed that and we’re seeing what else we can do.’’
At the Quad Series in London and Johannesburg in January the Silver Ferns were embarrassed by Australia, they were down 17-9 after the first quarter and eventually lost 67-48.
Folau admitted the Ferns had become predictable, teams knew how they’d play. But at recent training camps in Wellington and Dunedin they’ve looked to shake things up.
‘‘We’ve got to look at what we were doing back then, to know that we can’t perform like that at the Commonwealth Games,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve been found out big time and I’m the first one to put my hand up to say that, not just as a team, but as individuals as well.’’
There are just 12 days between the Taini Jamison final and the Silver Ferns’ opening fixture at the Games. So coach Janine Southby says she is looking to use this tournament as a dress rehearsal.
‘‘There are a lot of things we’ve got in our days to structure it like it will be at the Commonwealth Games, which is slightly different to what we do for test matches and tours,’’ she said.