The group stages of the Super 7’s category at the World Indoor Netball Championships in South Africa came to a close for all three England Nets teams on Friday.
England Nets Ladies, Mixed and U21 Women finished fourth in their respective groups but all still have the chance to secure a podium position on Saturday.
Here is how the second day of Super 7’s (Friday 9th August) panned out…
U21 Women
RSA 45-42 ENG
Starting VII: Steph Marsden (GK) | Abby Miles (GD) | Lali Anderson (WD) | Hannah Raine (C) | Victoria Lavender (WA) | Kalea Stagg (GA) | Brooke Vivian (GS).
England Nets U21 Women’s priority in the first quarter against hosts South Africa was to frustrate their opponents in the shooting circle and to force turnovers. Shelley Copland’s side restricted them to 25 goals by the end of the second quarter but were still trailing by three goals at half-time. The young squad improved after the interval, drawing the third quarter, but were not able to overturn the deficit before the final whistle.
Player of the Match: Brooke Vivian
England Nets U21 Head Coach Shelley Copland said: “This was the best netball I’ve seen from our team this tournament. They really listened and put everything into this game. We were so close to celebrating our first win in 7’s and it was such a shame that the last goal was disallowed.”
NZL 69-47 ENG
Starting VII: Steph Marsden (GK) | Abby Miles (GD) | Becky Smith (WD) | Hannah Raine (C) | Vanessa Beal (WA) | Ziana Butt (GA) | Brooke Vivian (GS).
New Zealand started this encounter at an electrifying pace and, subsequently, created many turnovers in the first quarter. These turnovers were duly converted into goals and left England Nets U21 Women with a lot to do. Any flow from Copland’s side was often disrupted by numerous tactical changes from New Zealand, which the English defence worked hard to adapt to. The favourites ultimately won the game by 22 goals and finished the group in first.
Player of the Match: Abby Miles
England Nets U21 Head Coach Shelley Copland said: “We may not have won this one but I was still impressed by every single player on that court. Our defence worked really hard against some very good shooters.”
England Nets U21 Women finished the group stage in fourth place behind South Africa (Eight points), Australia (18) and New Zealand (22).
MIXED
RSA 53-35 ENG
Starting VII: James Everley (GK) | Janis John (GD) | Jen Walsh (WD) | Michael Clarke (C) | Laura Butler (WA) | Patrick Buckley (GA) | Kellie Hull (GS).
South Africa came out firing in their first match of the day and England Nets Mixed struggled to find their rhythm as a result. At half-time, with England down by 16, tactical changes were made which helped to sure up the defence but they were still struggling to find goals at the other end. Ryan Allan’s side showed great character in the latter stages and came close to winning the final quarter.
Player of the Match: Janis John
England Nets Mixed Head Coach Ryan Allan said: “Going into the semi-finals, we have to believe that we can beat South Africa. We have demonstrated we can compete and win this over one or two quarters. We now need to do this over four quarters.”
NZL 69-47 ENG
Starting VII: James Everley (GK) | Jen Walsh (GD) | Janis John (WD) | Michael Clarke (C) | Laura Butler (WA) | Patrick Buckley (GA) | Kellie Hull (GS).
The Mixed side came into the clash with New Zealand full of confidence after their brave performance against the same opposition on Thursday. Ryan Allan instructed his team to approach this game in a similar manner with the hope of going one better but New Zealand had clearly learned from their last meeting. England Nets Mixed were left reeling in the first-half after a fast start from the opposition. Every player on court gave it their all and took the second half by one goal.
Player of the Match: James Everley
England Nets Mixed Head Coach Ryan Allan said: “If we take the passion and belief from the second half of this game, we can do some incredible things on finals day.”
England Nets Mixed finished the group stage in fourth place behind South Africa (12 points), New Zealand (12) and Australia (24).
LADIES
AUS 57-46 ENG
Starting VII: Caroline Buckland (GK) | Kayleigh Jean (GD) | Kara Miller (WD) | Thea-Rose Thompson (C) | Natalie Miller (WA) | Natasha Khatib (GA) | Francesca Wells (GS).
England Nets Ladies started strong against the Australians in what was a pulsating match. While Australia started to pull ahead by half-time, England dug deep after the interval and were rewarded with several consecutive goals. The Ladies impressively won the third quarter 18-13 as they continued to reduce the gap. Australia are an experienced outfit, however, and adjusted accordingly to see out the victory.
Player of the Match: Lucy Herdman
England Nets Ladies Assistant Coach Faye Bateson said: “There was some excellent shooting from Lucy Herdman and Francesca Wells. However, there wasn’t enough opportunities at goal after turnovers.”
RSA 60-55 ENG
Starting VII: Florence Edwards (GK) | Kayleigh Jean (GD) | Kara Miller (WD) | Thea-Rose Thompson (C) | Natasha Khatib (WA) | Francesca Wells (GA) | Lucy Herdman (GS).
England Nets Ladies’ battle with South Africa was closely contended throughout and, in the end, the pair were separated by just five goals. The hosts edged the first quarter by two goals but, thanks to five successive goals in the second quarter, England had turned the game on its head to lead 29-30 at half-time. They continued to dominate the court in the third quarter with goal keeper Florence Edwards particularly impressing. It wasn’t until the final five minutes that a side started to pull away and it was South Africa that came out with a win.
Player of the Match: Florence Edwards
England Nets Ladies Assistant Coach Faye Bateson said: “They showed excellent work rate and consistency out there. However, our own errors in the third and the fourth quarters allowed the opposition to come back and take the win.”
England Nets Ladies finished the group stage in fourth place behind New Zealand (Eight points), South Africa (16) and Australia (24).
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For more information, visit the World Indoor Netball Association website.
Photo credit: James Everley.
