Ferns find their form
A win would have been greatly received. An emphatic victory was a cherished delight.
The Silver Ferns ended a horrid losing run in style in Tauranga last night when they defeated South Africa 61-37 in their second outing of the Quad Series.
After a series-opening loss to England by 13 points that did nothing to soothe a hangover of three consecutive Commonwealth Games losses, a more dynamic and polished New Zealand team was always a step ahead of the Proteas.
The Ferns were driven from the back.
Former captain Katrina Grant and defensive partner Jane Watson were a dominant duo, limiting the impact of dangerous goal shoot Lenize Potgieter.
Michaela Sokolich-Beatson added impetus from her wing defence role as she, skipper Laura Langman and wing attack Gina Crampton pushed through the midcourt while Te Paea SelbyRickit and Maria Folau took the chances New Zealand had missed in the Quad Series opener.
New coach Noeline Taurua made two changes to the starting seven from the team which suffered a record loss to England in Auckland three days earlier.
Selby-Rickit started at goal shoot in place of Ameliaranne Ekensaio, while Sokolich-Beatson started at wing defence with Langman moving to centre as Sam Sinclair dropped to the bench.
The hosts steamed out to a 9-1 lead, quickly rectifying a failing in their loss against England where they were unable to convert turnovers into points.
Last night, the visitors had made six turnovers before the first quarter was midway through, and the new shooting combination made the shellshocked South Africans pay.
That boosted New Zealand’s confidence, as Tutaia and Crampton threw expertly judged lob passes to allow Selby-Rickit increase the hosts’ advantage to double-digits and the match was over in terms of deciding the victors after 15 minutes.
Sinclair came on at halftime as Langman reverted to wing defence while Aliyah Dunn made her Ferns debut to start the fourth quarter at goal shoot.
While the hosts were unable to match the complete performance of the first 15 minutes, there was plenty for Taurua to smile about ahead of Sunday’s series-finale against Australia in Melbourne.