The Ladies England squad took GOLD in the 7s championship at the Indoor Netball World Cup!
With that victory the Super 6s and 7s World Championship competitions in Wellington, New Zealand come to an end.
Our England contingent arrived in Wellington on the evening of the 12th August where they embarked on a week of acclimatising and training before the competition began.
The Super 6s competition started on Sunday 21st August when England’s teams took to court to do battle against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
At the end of day one the results were as follows:
Mixed Team: Eng 17 v 46 Aus, Eng 29 v 80 NZ, Eng 21 v 44 SA
U21 Team: Eng 37 v 48 Aus Eng 48 v 70 NZ, Eng 58 v 45 SA
The Ladies team beat Australia for the first time ever to start their 6s campaign with a morale boosting win! The home nation was proving hard to beat across the board on day one and looked set to continue.
At the end of day two the results were as follows:
Mixed Team: Eng 30-39 Aus, Eng 34-40 SA, Eng 31-100 NZ
U21 Team: Eng 47-38 Aus, Eng 62-41 SA, Eng 21-72 NZ
There was fantastic play from all three teams on day two with the Mixed team really improving on the previous days results against Australia and South Africa. The U21 side followed in the Ladies footsteps by beating Australia and the Ladies team came within just three goals of New Zealand.
The competition then moved into the final day of the Super 6s tournament with two dramatic games for our girls!
Our mixed team were unfortunately knocked out at the quarter final stage by South Africa 47-32.
The match finished with scores TIED at 45-all which resulted in extra time… that ALSO finished in a tie!
A tense penalty shootout awaited our girls where Australia just edged them out.
England’s Ladies also faced the challenge of Australia in the semi-final after an incredible 74-33 win v South Africa in the quarter final stage.
After another tense and hard fought game, England Ladies took Australia all the way to the last minute but narrowly lost 48-44.
With that result, the 6s competition drew to an end for the England squads. New Zealand took Gold across the board in the Men’s, Ladies, Mixed and U21 categories.
After a day of recovery and training the 7s campaign started on the 24th August with our three squads looking to build on their achievements in the Super 6s.
At the end of day one the results were as follows:
Mixed Team: Eng 22-66 Aus, Eng 29-55 SA, Eng 21-46 NZ
Ladies Team: Eng 32-49 Aus, Eng 54-34 SA, Eng 36-44 NZ
At the end of day two the results were as follows:
Mixed Team: Eng 22-74 Aus, Eng 33-49 SA, Eng 31-69 NZ
U21 Team: Eng 34-60 Aus, Eng 44-40 SA, Eng 33-68 NZ
It was another great day for our teams as the ladies beat the hosts New Zealand – it was a fantastic effort from them as they fought hard to win by just a single goal against strong opposition!
It was a sign of things to come for the ladies squad as they looked like they could take a victory against any side on their day.
The three squads had competitive battles against South Africa the whole way through the tournament with the U21 side beating them by four goals on day two and the Mixed team building on their performances against them each time.
On finals day the U21’s beat South Africa 54-33 to take their place against Australia in the Semi Finals but unfortunately were beaten by a dominant side 53-39.
England Mixed were knocked out of the championship after a battling performance against South Africa – the final score was 52-29.
It was over to the Ladies team – and don’t forget they were still on a high from that single goal victory against New Zealand!
They took a close victory against South Africa 43-41 in the quarter finals to find the hosts New Zealand waiting for them in the semi finals.
The ladies gave it a titanic effort in the semi finals and made history to beat New Zealand AGAIN by just one goal 42-41 and reach the final of the 7s tournament!
The final and Australia awaited the ladies side and they grabbed the challenge with both hands – England lead by six goals with three minutes to go and dug in their heels to finish the game 42-34 WINNERS!
Huge congratulations to the England Ladies for becoming 2016 World Indoor Netball Ladies 7s champions!
The squads will now have three days of well-earned rest (and celebration!!) before travelling back to England. Well done to all players and support staff for their fantastic achievements at the 2016 Indoor Netball World Cup.
