At a glance
Australia 58 (Bassett 9/12, Wood 15/20, Thwaites 30/32, Pettitt 4/6) New Zealand 42 (Selby-Rickit 26/30, Mes 1/3, Tutaia 12/17, Wilson 3/4). Q1: 12-13; Q2: 26-22 Q3: 40-31. November off, to have time to rest and recharge after a busy year, but they will be back in camp in December, as they continue to prepare for the Commonwealth Games next April.
Between now and then, Southby and her coaching staff will look back over the Constellation Cup, and the rest of the international season to plot a course forward.
‘‘We need to take some time to really be clear and make sure we channel our energies into the right things ... because we know six months is not a lot of time to turn this around.’’
While 2017 has ended badly, Southby remains confident her team can be in the hunt for gold on the Gold Coast. The last time the Silver Ferns lost four in a row to the Diamonds was at the end of 2014, but the next time they played, in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, the Ferns won, so it’s not an impossible task.
As she tries to help them take those steps, Southby believes the four losses of the past fortnight will serve as a wake-up call.
‘‘We got some young players out there and they know what it’s about now and because they know what it’s about they know what have to do in the next six months, so that’s a real positive.
‘‘Until now it’s been about me and Yvette [McCausland-Durie, Southby’s assistant] telling them, and until they experience it, they don’t really believe it, so now they’ve experienced it and they know how hard it is and I believe in them learning really quickly from this and bouncing back.’’