Taking on the world number two, New Zealand, after a one-goal win in the first game of the series, the Vitality Roses took control of the game to come out victorious, winning the Taini Jamison Trophy with one game left to play.
This victory marked the first time that England has won the Taini Jamison Trophy since 2021, and the first time England has ever won a test series in New Zealand within the first two games.
Goal shooter Liv Tchine was named the Vitality Player of the Match after an outstanding performance which saw her score 41 goals at 89% accuracy. She was ably supported in the attacking end by fellow young talent Lois Pearson who provided an outstanding 47 feeds across the course of the game.
Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby named an unchanged game day twelve heading into the second test but made a few changes to England’s starting seven. These changes saw Berri Neil start in the goal attack position and Amy Carter start in centre, moving Imogen Allison to wing defence.
A composed start to the game saw Tchine sink her first shot, before a ball was lost off the back line in the Vitality Roses’ attacking end, allowing the Silver Ferns to take an early lead. A period of goal-for-goal play followed before a mistake in the Silver Ferns attacking end allowed Fran Williams to pick up a loose ball and the Vitality Roses equalised.
In the passages of play that followed, both teams took some time to settle into the game, resulting in a series of quick turnovers at both ends of the court. With the score at 10-10, Kelly Jackson picked up the rebound of a missed shot and, despite the Vitality Roses’ defence slowing down the Silver Ferns’ transition through attack, it was not enough to prevent the Ferns from going one ahead, growing their lead to two with their centre pass that followed.
The Silver Ferns then intercepted the ball in the Vitality Roses’ shooting circle, and took their next possession of the ball calmly to goal, marking a run of five goals for New Zealand. A goal on the final whistle of the first quarter by Neil ended the quarter 16-13 to the Silver Ferns.
Helen Housby took to the court at the start of the second quarter, scoring her first goal of the game to bring the score to 17-14. Soon after, a loose ball was sent over the back line by the Silver Ferns, missing the hands of Grace Nweke and allowing the Vitality Roses to come within a one-goal deficit.
The English defence forced another turnover in the Silver Ferns’ attacking end, but a miss from Housby prevented the Vitality Roses from equalising the score. This was quickly followed by a miss from Tchine and the Silver Ferns returned to a three-goal lead.
Kimiora Poi replaced Madeline Gordon at centre for the Silver Ferns, whilst for England Allison moved to centre and Beth Cobden entered the game at wing defence.
With two minutes to play in the quarter, Funmi Fadoju forced a held ball on Nweke with immense pressure over the shot, but a missed shot at the other end of the court turned the ball back over for New Zealand. Down at the other end, Williams wrestled a rebound from the hands of Nweke, providing England with another opportunity to attack.
England scored off this gained possession, closing the gap to two with their centre pass to follow and a long shot from Housby then closed the gap to one. Tchine scored on the buzzer at the end of the quarter, bringing the score to 28-27.
As the second half began, the Vitality Roses kept the same seven players on court as they looked to close the one goal gap. A quick run of goals for the Silver Ferns started the quarter, opening the goal difference out to four in the first three minutes.
However, it was in this third quarter that the Vitality Roses really stamped their authority on the game, eventually winning the quarter with 18 goals to the Silver Ferns’ 12.
England’s defensive pressure stepped up a level, forcing the Silver Ferns to have to battle to find a way through and resulting in some critical turnovers. This allowed England to open up a lead in the scoreline as the Tchine and Housby connection continued to shine.
The Silver Ferns made another change at centre as the third quarter began, with Kate Heffernan coming onto court. The Vitality Roses forced a held ball call and, after a mistake from the Silver Ferns in the following passage of play, were able to open their lead out to eight.
Following a slight swing in momentum in the favour of the Silver Ferns, England remained composed and continued to win ball in the defensive end. Meanwhile Tchine continued to shoot from all distances in the shooting circle.
With five minutes to play and the score at 46-55 the Silver Ferns made more changes. Maia Wilson entered the game at goal attack and Jackson returned to court as goal keeper, replacing Erena Mikaere.
With three minutes left to play Jackson intercepted the ball, providing the Silver Ferns with a late opportunity to close the deficit down to six.
More defensive wins for the Silver Ferns were greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd as they managed to close the gap to four goals with 90 seconds left to play. However, composed shooting from Housby and Tchine ensured that the Vitality Roses continued to score when in possession of the ball and, despite valiant efforts in defence from the Silver Ferns, the Vitality Roses were able to hold on to a remarkable 55-59 win against the world number two side.
Speaking after the match, Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: “It’s the first time we’ve ever been on New Zealand’s soil and won a series in the first two matches and we were made to work incredibly hard for that which makes it all the more satisfying. I couldn’t be more proud of the way the girls found a way to get back in that game… and to have done it with this team is quite an incredible achievement really.
Reflecting on her teammate Liv Tchine’s player of the match performance, Vitality Roses captain Fran Williams said: “I thought Liv was seamless today in how she presented for ball, she’s just playing out of her skin and I’m just so proud of her, I think she really stood up for us.”
Looking ahead to the final game of the test series this Sunday in Invercargill, Williams was bold in her expectations of her side, saying: “We really want to go out and win this series 3-0. There’ll be no foot off the gas, we’ve got trust in our squad that everyone can come on and do that and play their role… we’re always playing to win and I just can’t wait to see us hopefully go on and stamp our authority on this test series.”
If you enjoyed watching today’s game, don’t miss the chance to see the Vitality Roses playing back on home soil against Jamaica in November. The Vitality Netball Horizon Series comes to Manchester’s AO Arena on 16 and 17 November, you can get tickets here.
Vitality Roses starting seven: Fran Williams (GK), Funmi Fadoju (GD), Imogen Allison (WD), Amy Carter (C), Lois Pearson (WA), Berri Neil (GA), Liv Tchine (GS)
Substitutes: Beth Cobden, Alice Harvey, Helen Housby, Hannah Joseph, Razia Quashie
Silver Ferns starting seven: Grace Nweke (GS), Ameliaranne Ekenasio (GA), Whitney Souness (WA), Madeline Gordon (C), Kate Heffernan (WD), Parris Mason (GD), Kelly Jackson (GK)
Substitutes: Karin Burger, Erena Mikaere, Kimiora Poi, Amelia Walmsley, Maia Wilson
Image: Michael Bradley
