Kopua thrilled to be back in black

Pulling on the black dress for the first time in more than three years, Casey Kopua was quickly reminded how intense international netball can be.

The veteran defender started all three of the Silver Ferns’ Quad Series tests in England this month, her first appearances since coming out of retirement last August.

‘‘The first game was a good smack in the face, but your adrenaline gets you through the game,’’ she said yesterday, after arriving back in Auckland.

‘‘I got dicked a few times, but that’s life, and it was more ‘what am I going to do about it?’’’

Kopua acquitted herself well across the series, playing every minute as the Ferns were hammered by England, competitive in a narrow loss to Australia, and resilient in overcoming South Africa in extra time.

‘‘I still had nerves, but it was exciting at the same time, and the feeling I had was probably the same as when I first played,’’ she said.

‘‘I still need to work on things, but the more I do it, the better I will get.

‘‘I’m not trying to save the world, just trying to take small steps to get to where I want to be.’’

The Ferns have the rest of this week off before returning to their ANZ Premiership franchises, with that competition set to start on February 24 and finish on June 2, six weeks out from the start of the Netball World Cup in England.

Their results in the Quad Series show they have plenty of work to do if they are to challenge England and Australia for the gold medal, a prize that has eluded them since 2003, before any of the current squad made their debuts.

They will complete their World Cup preparations with a warm-up series at home in June, once the domestic season is over, but there will be plenty of work going on over the next few months, even while the players become rivals instead of team-mates.

‘‘It’s about what we’re going to do individually to make us better and also to execute our game plan consistently,’’ Kopua said.

‘‘If we can do that, then we are on the way.’’

The premiership is undoubtedly a step down from international netball, which puts the onus on the country’s top players to keep their standards high – and help lift those of their less-experienced team-mates – not ease off because the challenge isn’t as great as it could be.

‘‘You can sometimes get caught in that trap going back, but there’s at least one of us in each franchise, and we know the intensity and what it needs to be,’’ Kopua said.

‘‘It’s just about staying accountable for that, being real about it, and making sure the team comes first in whatever we’re doing.’’