Defender Billie Irwin joined her club and Rotorua provincial team-mate Tilly Hirst in the 1967 Silver Ferns team. The pair had formed a great understanding in the defensive circle which transferred seamlessly to New Zealand’s crack team of 1967 where they were referred to as ‘the black wall’.

Irwin was predominantly a goalkeeper but with Hirst, the pair was able to interchange the defensive positions instinctively, making them a formidable unit.

The tall defender completed a memorable year at international level when the Silver Ferns swept all challengers to win New Zealand’s first Netball World Cup title in Perth, in 1967.