England are enjoying a delightful Netball World Cup appearance. For the first time in 48 years, the England Roses will play in the final of the global competition.
The Jess Thirlby-led side spectacularly defeated the 2019 champions, New Zealand to clinch a spot in the final. The last five minutes of the last quarter saw the Roses score six unanswered goals to beat the Silver Ferns 46-40 in the first semifinal of the competition held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Thirlby says she is proud of what the team has achieved in this campaign.
“Typically very proud. I am a little bit overwhelmed with what the team has been able to do. I think to win a game in that way is the most satisfying feeling because of our capability on the court from a technical and tactical point of view, I’ve never questioned that or doubted it.
“I have a 100 per cent belief in it. I think the journey we’ve been on is how to manage ourselves through momentum in games against the best teams playing at their best. We’ve certainly learned a lot over some performances coming to the tournament. I think to have a game like yesterday where there were a bit more runs forward against teams that come out and put up but then today, to go goal-for-goal for as long as we did, I think what a fantastic showcase by both teams.”
The former Team Bath mentor says the journey to the final didn’t only start in the opening match of the 2023 edition. She says getting to the top has been in the works since she took over the reins four years ago.
“When I got the job in August 2019 we had a Zoom call because as you know half the team are never England-based, so it was tricky from the start. One of the things I said was I want to help take this Roses team where it has never gone before and for us, that is being the World Cup final, so it has been four years in the making. It feels brilliant that we have gone on a journey and being patient, whenever people question, or judge, we have held really true to the fact that we’ve been on a brilliant journey. I’d be saying that whether we came here with a narrow loss.
“I think the mentality of this group and the perseverance when the road was ultimately quite bumpy, not having some of our most experienced players early in the cycle but then the benefit of that is we have managed to get more court time and match minutes against the best teams in the world. We wanted to get to the starting line-up of the world with much more depth. I think we’re proving that is working well for us and just incredibly proud that we have made that history,” she says.
The Roses met Malawi, Australia, and New Zealand on their way to the final. Thirlby says that although they knew how to prepare for the Ferns, the game was not as easy.
“I thought New Zealand were excellent. They did what we kind of expected and maybe we struggled at times to really overcome that but mentally we stayed within. I think to end the game of that nature with the run of six just goes to tell you that you just have to stay in the game and it opened up an attack, the defense got what they needed when we needed it most and that’s really satisfying,” she says.
Captain Layla Guscoth says although getting into the final of the competition is a big feat, winning the gold medal is their ultimate goal and improving their performance in the last World Cup. Although Guscoth was part of the Roses team in Liverpool, she got injured in the group-stage match against Scotland and she missed the remainder of the tournament.
“We want a gold medal, we’re happy to be in the final but we want to win. I think we will celebrate now but come dinner we will be focusing on what we have done to get us to this point and what we need to do to get over the line.
“It’s been amazing, obviously, 2019 was hugely disappointing for me. I still enjoyed being part of the team then and I enjoyed that 2019 brought us the tournament but being able to be actually part of it up until this stage has been amazing. I didn’t realise how hard it was actually five games in five days, I didn’t realise that from the last time. It’s been incredible and it’s such a great group to be here with and it’s been a really good tournament,” says Guscoth.
Here is how the proceedings were:
The first 15 minutes of the match was a tight affair with both teams appearing nervous and tentative, leading to silly mistakes like stepping and handling. There were several turnovers resulting in the lead changing hands on a couple of occasions.
English defenders Layla Guscoth and Geva Mentor put great pressure on the New Zealand circle with the Silver Ferns’ attacking players struggling to feed quality ball to shooters Maia Wilson and Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
The Silver Ferns managed to edge ahead when South African-born Karin Burger intercepted an English centre pass and run it down to her own goal circle. The game was on.
England, in a rush to get the ball back to the other end of the court, overcooked a pass to goal shooter Eleanor Cardwell and back it went for the defending world champions to add another goal to their now-growing tally (8-5).
A brilliant intercept by Mentor in the New Zealand goal circle and a couple of unanswered goals by England’s Cardwell and goal attack Helen Housby took the score to 9-all after the first quarter.
The same starting seven returned for both teams at the start of the second quarter.
The Roses took control of the opening minutes with Housby landing two quick goals to make it 11-9 for England.
New Zealand started playing with a sense of urgency, moving the ball down court with speed and trying to outrun and outplay their opponents. England were however not to be outdone and kept up with the fast pace, picking up a few loose balls in the process. The Silver Ferns were making far too many errors while Guscoth and Mentor had the New Zealand shooters well and truly covered.
Wilson scored for New Zealand on the stroke of halftime to make matters level at 20-all and the players headed to the change rooms with a place in the World Cup final still ripe for the picking.
In the first changes for both teams, Jade Clarke came on for Imogen Allison on centre at the start of the third quarter for England. New Zealand remained unchanged.
New Zealand missed their first goal of the match, and an opportunity to get the lead, when Ameliaranne Ekenasio failed to land her eight attempt at the start of the third quarter.
In the final five minutes, Francesca Williams took over from Guscoth as English goal defence.
A tip by Silver Ferns goalkeeper Kelly Jury stole vital possession from England and New Zealand went ahead by two. England however made sure to get the ball to their goal circle before the quarter ran out and two goals by Housby saw matters still level at 32-all.
The same seven who started the match for the Silver Ferns came out for the final 15 minutes again.
England shooter Cardwell copped a caution with ten minutes to go and the ball was turned down the court towards the New Zealand goal circle where Wilson continued her unblemished shooting record.
With three minutes left on the clock and leading by three goals, England were on course to create history. An exceptional deflection by England centre C Imogen Allison effectively dashed New Zealand’s hopes of defending their title won four years ago in Liverpool.
When the final whistle went, the scoreboard read 46-40 and the England players collapsed while the bench stormed on court in jubilation.
Quarter scores:
- Q1=9-9
- Q2=20-20
- Q3=32-32
- Q4= 46-40
- Most Valuable Player: Francesca Williams (England)
