England New Zealand
England have underlined their status as world netball’s disrupters and shaken up the Quad Series in the process after tipping over the Silver Ferns at Trusts Arena last night.
After trailing at each change of end, the English ran down New Zealand in a frenetic final quarter, in which the Silver Ferns struggled to find a passage to goal through a committed Roses defensive effort.
Led by energetic midcourter Serena Guthrie and star defender Geva Mentor, England restricted the Ferns to just eight goals in the final quarter, as New Zealand’s centre pass to goal conversion rate dropped to an eye-watering 27 per cent.
The 49-45 loss has given New Zealand coach Janine Southby plenty to contemplate ahead of next month’s three-test series against the touring English side.
But for now, the Ferns’ immediate concern is the world No 1 Australian side in their final Quad Series outing in Invercargill this weekend.
Southby is hoping the Ferns attack will have learned from last night’s tough test of their composure.
“I think we stopped the movement and ball speed that had been successful for us. Players got hesitant to pass, and once that hesitancy creeps in, it gets that bit harder and there was a lot of pressure out there — particularly in the goal circle, where they didn’t have a lot of room to move,” she said.
England have long been talked up as a threat to the Silver Ferns’ place in world netball’s established order, but that chatter has got louder heading into this season.
With the likes of Mentor, Guthrie and Jo Harten proving standouts in the new Australian domestic competition this year, many across the Tasman are tipping an England v Australia gold medal match at next year’s Commonwealth Games.
Those theories seemed to be supported by the Roses’ second half comeback against Australia in last weekend’s Quad Series opener in Brisbane. After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Roses looked to be heading for a heavy defeat, but Tracey Neville’s side showed strong resolve in the second half to claw their way back into contention, eventually falling 54-50.
Given New Zealand’s unconvincing start to the series against South Africa, the new-look Ferns looked vulnerable heading into last night’s clash. Those vulnerabilities were exacerbated by the Ferns’ disrupted build-up to the test, with Southby robbed of two of her best performers from Saturday night’s 63-56 win over South Africa.
Star shooter Maria Tutaia, who was named player of the match in Brisbane, was ruled out of the rest of the Quad Series due to a family bereavement, while young defender Kelly Jury was struck down by an ankle injury on the eve of the test.
After failing to take advantage of their opportunities against Australia, Neville, who was also missing one of her top performers in Harten, was delighted her side were able to get the job done against the Ferns.
“What I’m really proud of was there were times when they made critical errors, but they dug in and stuck to the game plan and nailed down and got the result,” she said.
“We created momentum, we won the second quarter, we won the third quarter and I said to the girls you have to go out and keep building on that momentum. I think it was just that build-up of pressure throughout the game that got us the result.”
It was only England’s fifth win in 81 tests against New Zealand, but Neville believes there are strong signs her side are building consistency.
In last night’s other Quad Series match, Australia laboured to a 58-52 win over South Africa in Canberra. The result was South Africa’s best against the Diamonds in 50 years.