The Vitality Roses take on Jamaica in a winner takes all clash in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup. This crucial encounter takes place on Saturday 17:00 BST at the Copper Box Arena.
Both sides will be looking to claim the win with two points enough to reach the competition’s final on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides are both level on two points after the first two rounds of the tournament after a win and a defeat each.
Another victory for either side will ensure a meeting with New Zealand, who face South Africa in their penultimate fixture, in the final where the inaugural Vitality Netball Nations Cup trophy will be on the line.
The Vitality Roses kicked off their Vitality Netball Nations Cup campaign with a loss to New Zealand in Nottingham and a victory over South Africa in Birmingham.
Jess Thirlby’s side will be in a buoyant mood following their clash with South Africa which resulted in a 58-54 win over the SPAR Proteas.
In an atmospheric arena, the Vitality Roses came back from a three-goal deficit in the first quarter in what was a tremendous display of character.
This was England’s seventh meeting with the African side in the last 12 months but Jamaica are somewhat unfamiliar opponents with the two nations having met just once in 2019.
Vitality Roses captain Natalie Haythornthwaite said: “Jamaica have a different look squad but most teams have a lot of new faces in their teams.
“The last time we faced them would have been at the Vitality Netball World Cup and it will be exciting to test ourselves against a nation that’s so talented.
“We have to make sure that we work the ball to the edge and just be smart with it, looking after our possessions. As I said, it will be great to test ourselves against Jamaica who we don’t get to play against that often.”
Jamaica, meanwhile, started the tournament with an exceptional 59-54 win over South Africa on the opening day before losing to World Champions New Zealand 71-45 in midweek.
Indeed, with so many new faces, the Sunshine Girls are embarking on a new era under Head Coach Connie Francis.
The former international has brought an evident confidence to the Jamaican camp which was clear in their first match of the tournament against South Africa.
Francis, who led her country to a Netball World Championships bronze in 2007, will be confident herself with a young but talented group.
Jamaica captain Jhaniele Fowler said: “Our overall aim is just to trust the process the coach has been bringing us through and to show we are confident with what she has been working with us on.
“We want to go out there on court, bring the young ones in and to make sure we are happy that we have done our best.
“Although they might not be cheering for us, it’s going to be awesome to see that the arena is going to be packed with roaring fans.”
With one win and one defeat each, the winner of this final round-robin fixture will go into the final on Sunday at 17:0o BST while the others will battle it out for third at 14:30 BST on the same day.
You can follow all of the action live via the England Netball Twitter account and on Sky Sports, who will also be streaming the event on their official YouTube channel with coverage of Vitality Roses vs Jamaica starting from 16:45 BST.
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