Aussie test awaits Ferns
‘‘He got that message at the start of the year,’’ Foster said.
‘‘Can I just say all our group got a few messages, it was not just Ngani. Particularly in the midfield, we needed a little bit more out of that area and just in terms of growing a bit of variety in what we offered in that space.’’
Having been shunted to the outhouse a year ago, Laumape is now belting on the door for World Cup selection and if Williams’ body doesn’t carry him through the championship he will need to make sure his passport is valid.
‘‘I’m just trying to get better every year,’’ Laumape said. ‘‘Obviously there was stuff I needed to work on. Every week in Super [with the Hurricanes] I was trying to get better and better.
‘‘I felt like I did what I needed to do.’’
Foster was positive, saying Laumape was ‘‘outstanding’’ when he played against Japan in Tokyo in early November and was pleased with his organisational skills, desire to be more vocal and willingness to jump into first receiver.
‘‘And he was happy to develop a kicking game,’’ Foster added. ‘‘I think he kicked three times on the end of year tour and we scored three tries. So that’s not a bad strike rate.’’ It says a lot about the Silver Ferns that even after beating Northern Ireland by 49 goals, coach Noeline Taurua was grumpy.
New Zealand booked their place in the semifinals at the World Cup yesterday after overpowering Northern Ireland 77-28 to make it five wins on the bounce in Liverpool.
They will likely play England or South Africa in the semifinals, but first up is an intriguing final game in the second round against long-time nemesis Australia.
Three-time defending world champions Australia have been in dazzling form and flexed their muscles on Tuesday, thrashing Malawi 74-25, who the Ferns beat 64-45 in their opener.
Tonight’s trans-tasman showdown (9.30pm start NZ time) could be a potential final, depending on how the semifinals play out.
After breezing through their early games of the tournament against Malawi, Barbados, Singapore, Zimbabwe and Northern Ireland, we won’t find out what the Silver Ferns are made of until they tackle Australia.
The Diamonds are the benchmark in world netball for good reason and the Ferns will quickly discover how they are really tracking in this competition.
Australia have dominated New Zealand in recent times, winning seven of eight clashes since the start of 2018, including October’s Constellation Cup, which they won 3-1.
Northern Ireland never threatened the Ferns, but Taurua wasn’t impressed her side tailed off in the final quarter, only winning the term 16-11 and committing eight turnovers.
It was far from their strongest seven on court in the last 15 minutes, but Taurua is a tough taskmaster and doesn’t suffer fools.
If the Ferns turn up against Australia and make those same mistakes, they’ll pay for it.
‘‘I was happy with probably about three quarters of the game, I thought we were in control and I could see what we were wanting to do. That last one, I’m not happy with. I’m not pleased with that last quarter,’’ Taurua said.
With Australia looming, Taurua started with what appears her first-choice seven in a last attempt to build connections.
Katrina Rore, who is on the mend from a calf strain which threatened to rule her out of the World Cup, got the starting nod at wing defence over Central Pulse team-mate Karin Burger.
New Zealand played some of their best netball of the tournament in the first half, racing out to a massive 44-11 halftime lead. Errors and inconsistency crept into their play in the second half as they made substitutions.
Veteran defender Casey Kopua, who will retire from elite netball after the World Cup, wound back the clock with a stellar showing. She gained a stack of defensive ball, combining effectively with Jane Watson.