The England U21 squad and staff on court together during the tour to Australia
As the England U21 squad prepare to take to court in Australia, find out more about the squad, the captains and the exciting challenge ahead.
In December, a squad of 16 athletes was named to take part in a tour to Australia where they will face U21 teams from both Australia and New Zealand.
Taking on teams from two of the world’s top netball nations is a welcome challenge for Roses Pathway Head Coach Sonia Mkoloma and her squad as they prepare to take to court on Friday 17 January.
Ahead of the tournament, Mkoloma shared an insight into the team’s preparations, saying: “One week into our U21 tour and the players have really relished the performance atmosphere at the Australian Institute of Sport. We have been able to bank some quality technical and strength sessions.
“We went on to spend three days at Sydney Olympic Park Netball Centre, where we had two practice games against the NSW Mens teams. The players were able to watch the NSW Swifts’ and the Giants’ pre-season training sessions and were warmly welcomed by respective coaches and players. It was also great to have Jo Harten make time to come over and give them some words of wisdom on her experiences in an U21 squad.
“With any tour, memories are also important so we ensured they were able to get to the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the legendary Bondi beach. Now we return to Canberra AIS and switch our focus into competition mode.”
The squad, who are all eligible by age for the Netball World Youth Cup taking place in Gibraltar in September 2025, is captained by Isabella Phillips and Tamilore Fapohunda, two athletes who are part of the Future Roses programme.
Tamilore plays in defence and has been named in Manchester Thunder’s NXT Gen squad ahead of the 2025 NXT Gen League beginning, whilst Isabella Phillips is a midcourt player who was named the NSL Young Player of the Year in 2024, and will line up for London Mavericks in NSL 2025. For now though, both players’ full focus is on leading the England U21 squad into the series of upcoming matches in Australia.
Among the young and talented squad is Vitality Rose Jayda Pechova who is bound to bring valuable experience to the team after making her debut for the senior Vitality Roses in September 2023. A further four athletes named in the squad – Sophie Egbaran, Harriet Jones, Sophie Kelly and Phillips – also have recent experience competing internationally after featuring in the 2024 FAST5 Netball World Series in New Zealand.
The tour will consist of England U21 playing Australia U21 Gold, Australia U21 Green and New Zealand U21 in matches scheduled between 17 and 23 January. As agreed by all teams competing in the tournament, the results of these games will not be shared publicly, but you can still keep up to date with the team’s journey in Australia.
Make sure to check the England Netball website on Monday 20 January after the first three games have been played and again on Thursday 23 January at the end of the tour where you’ll find two round-up articles featuring some reflections from the team. And don’t forget to follow the athletes on social media so that you can keep up to date with all the behind-the-scenes content that they share!
Look out for some athlete takeovers coming up on the England Netball channels too. You can follow @EnglandNetball on X, Instagram and TikTok, and England Netball on Facebook and LinkedIn.
