Grant: We need to learn from loss to England

Cheree Kinnear

The Silver Ferns are confident they can learn from their extra-time loss to England when they take on an increasingly dangerous South Africa in their second Quad Series netball match today in Johannesburg.

The Ferns lost their opening match to England 64-57 after coughing up a handy three-quarter time lead.

That put the Ferns on the cusp of their longest losing streak of all time — six defeats in a row — but captain Katrina Grant is sure a comeback is possible.

“When we do things the way we want to and have confidence in ourselves and each other then we can play some really good netball.”

With the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April fast approaching, the Silver Ferns most recent performance raised questions about their lack of mental strength and ability to deal with the pressure. But Grant said they would strive to make the England loss a learning experience.

“If we take it as learning, it will be a good thing for Commonwealth Games because next time we go through it we will know how to react and how to deal with it,” she said yesterday. “If we don’t learn from it, it will be a concern because a lot of players in our team have not been through that before.”

Grant said they expect a tough battle from the Norma Plummer-coached side after South Africa performed strongly against Australian earlier this week. Australia won 54-50 — their narrowest margin over South Africa.

“They will be full of confidence,” Grant said, “They really gave Australia a run for their money the other day and they looked really fit, athletic, fast, they are playing some really good netball.

Plummer said the Quad Series was of critical importance to the development of the Proteas leading into April’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

“We can go on playing teams ranked under us and maybe get a win, or we could challenge and get the games they need — the intensity and the pressure of playing the best.”