Family a bonus factor for Francois
Shannon Francois is hoping to make the most of the Silver Ferns match against Australia on Tuesday night in Christchurch, mostly because she’s flying the flag for the Mainland.
The added bonus in Christchurch, will be a large contingent of friends and family cheering her on from the stands and Francois’ sole aim is to do them proud and represent the South Island on court.
‘‘This is probably the closest I’ll get to playing at home for me,’’ said Motueka-born Francois.
‘‘So it’s always an honour to play a test down here in the South Island and represent as much as I can.’’
Plying her Trans-Tasman trade with Southern Steel, despite being the club’s third most-capped player, Francois has been a peripheral Silver Fern but a move into the centre circle for the Steel has led to a shift into the Ferns’ midcourt.
The 25-year-old was brought in as an apprentice to Laura Langman at centre for the Silver Ferns’ 2015 Netball World Cup campaign. Francois admitted she was still developing in that regard, as coach Waimarama Taumaunu searches for her best combination.
‘‘I think it’s taking every opportunity at training and making sure we really push ourselves.
‘‘I think we know any three that
go on court are deserving of that role and they’ve definitely earned it.
‘‘So we don’t hold back at training and it’s good to have some healthy competition.’’
Francois has brought a hard work ethic in the gym, a quality that is now a huge part of the Silver Ferns set up.
Lifting their fitness is something she said can only be good for the team.
After their heartbreaking loss to Australia in the World Cup final, Francois said the team felt it had a lot to prove, and would like to prove their victory in pool play was no fluke.
‘‘[The World Cup] was a huge learning curve. It was so much fun though, I wouldn’t take it back for the world. We learnt heaps about ourselves and had so much fun doing it.’’
‘‘[Against Australia] bar that first seven minutes in that first quarter we were totally in that game and I couldn’t be more proud of the girls and how they did.’’
After the World Cup some players did some soul searching over whether to continue, however all but Maria Tutaia of the World Cup squad is back and the team was ready to continue their rivalry with the Diamonds.
‘‘Everyone came back in really good shape and excited about the tests coming up, so it’s a really good environment.’’