Source: Radio New Zealand
England’s Helen Housby shoots during England v Silver Ferns, Netball Nations Cup match in 2024. Alex Whitehead / www.photosport.nz
The Silver Ferns will tackle the three-Test series against a strong England outfit knowing it will probably be their last hit out before next year’s Commonwealth Games.
New Zealand beat Scotland 80-48 in the second test against the Thistles in Glasgow on Wednesday in their final tune up before facing a tough England side.
The Silver Ferns led 44-27 at half-time before interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie took the opportunity to give less experienced players more court time.
McCausland-Durie said that was always the aim for the two Scotland Tests before meeting England, who are ranked fourth in the world.
“The big things for us was really about making sure that we tested a number of different combinations as part of that big picture across that whole international programme and gives us the opportunity to know what we can see as options that we can put on against the Roses in our last series,” McCausland-Durie said.
The Silver Ferns beat Scotland 63-41 in the first Test on Monday.
Starting on Sunday in London, the Silver Ferns will be playing a near full-strength England, who have had their number in recent times. England won three of the four Tests between the sides in 2024.
The Roses squad for the series includes shooter Helen Housby, a veteran in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) competition.
Eleanor Cardwell has also been recalled to the squad after battling injury, as has fellow shooter Sasha Glasgow, who made the long journey back from a horrific leg injury last year.
Interim Silver Ferns captain Karin Burger said the Northern Hemisphere tour was crucial preparation for the Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow.
“Coming to Scotland and getting our bearings around what Glasgow looks like was the start of that and knowing that this English series is potentially our last international hit-out before Commonwealth Games so it’s really important that we take it as that, knowing that we want to build on the group that we have but we also need to solidify and put good performances out there,” Burger said.
“Knowing that will be our last hit-out, we need to take it really seriously and work really hard and what that looks like for us going into Commonwealth Games so we can be satisfied going home that we are ready come next year.”
The experienced defender said the dynamic Housby-Cardwell combination was always challenging to come up against.
“They are quite a big threat in terms of their movement and where they can shoot from and they’ve got experience and particularly Helen I know will play with a lot of game smarts so you do have to be paying a lot of attention to that and knowing what her movements are and what their strengths are and knowing how we can nullify that.”
Maddy Gordon. AAP / www.photosport.nz
Burger was pleased at the improvement shown in the second Test against Scotland but knows they will need to step up significantly for the series against England.
In the second test, the combination between midcourter Maddy Gordon and shooter Grace Nweke was on fire. When the pair were rested at half-time, the Silver Ferns won the next quarter by just two goals. To their credit, the less experienced line-up then thumped Scotland 20-7 in the final quarter.
“People like Maddy and Grace when they start the match the way that they do, they really set up a strong base and it was always going to be pretty hard for others to follow but particularly because a lot of those combinations are new that have come on so it does unfortunately take a little bit of settling but I was pleased to see in that fourth quarter that they steadied that and did reduce Scotland to a much smaller margin,” McCausland-Durie said.
“It was important to be better than we were in that last test, it will be important to be better than we were today in the next test.”
Despite only playing half a game, Gordon was named MVP as she continues to push a strong case to start at wing attack.
Gordon, who has been the Silver Ferns starting centre in recent times, could be the key to unlocking the full potential of Nweke from wing attack.
Will McCausland-Durie be tempted to start her at WA against England?
“She’s been dynamic in centre and wing attack, I think for us it’s always about looking at the opposition and the picture that they present for us so we’ll turn our heads now to that.
“England have got a reasonably new midcourt and more of their higher capped players are sitting in the ends so we want to make sure we’ve got the opportunity to match that and then bring points of difference – so we’ve used Maddy in different ways to bring change and points of difference and wing attack is such a pivotal space for that.”
The trip to Scotland was also an opportunity for the Silver Ferns to get familiar with Glasgow. All of the netball will be played at the Hydro, which is the fifth largest arena in the UK and has the capacity to hold up to 13,000 spectators.
Despite all the recent off-court drama the Silver Ferns have had to deal with inside this international window, the back to back series that they’ve had will be invaluable.
The Silver Ferns started against fifth ranked South Africa in September, before playing world number one Australia.
By the time they play the Roses, Jamaica will be the only team left in the top five that they won’t meet in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games.
Liana Leota not in the UK
Interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie (L) dissects the game with assistant coach Liana Leota following the Silver Ferns win over South Africa. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
Netball New Zealand confirmed on Wednesday that interim assistant coach Liana Leota did not travel to the UK due to family reasons.
McCausland-Durie said the team’s thoughts were with Leota and her whānau “during this difficult time”.
It’s possible Leota might join the side later in the tour.
Former Silver Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu is supporting the team in her high-performance role for the series. Taumaunu took over from Tracey Fear, who joined the team for the series against South Africa and Australia.
Burger said Taumaunu had been a great person to lean on.
“Having someone like Wai who has so much experience and has been in this environment before in supporting us not just in the high performance sense but also from a coaching perspective. Really fortunate to have her on this tour considering Liana had to go spend time with family, which we fully support,” Burger said.
When Dame Noeline Taurua was reinstated as Silver Ferns coach late last month, Netball NZ said the interim coaching appointments would remain in place until the conclusion of the Northern Tour to minimise disruption.
Netball New Zealand has reiterated that position.
“Netball New Zealand had already agreed with Dame Noeline that she would not join the Northern Tour. Having her available in New Zealand means we can move forward immediately with the work we want to do to strengthen the Silver Ferns high performance programme.”
The first test in London on Sunday starts at 6am.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand