Let The Games Begin!
New Zealand Netball Coach Waimarama Taumaunu has had the last two years to think about the next eleven days in what will be the ultimate test for the coaching staff and team.
Not content to come home to New Zealand with anything less than gold, Taumaunu says adding the final touches to the build-up in Bath last week was a positive thing for the team.
“We’ve just spent the past week down there in Bath, making very good use of the English Institute of Sport facilities and the proximity of Wales so we had a couple of games against Wales and another hit out against England A,” she said.
“We are very excited to be here!”
Now the focus turns squarely to Friday nights’ opening encounter against Malawi at the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre (SECC).
“Our understanding of Malawi is largely based on our Series against them last year and the improvement we’ve seen in Mwai Kumwenda in the ANZ Championship, so I would imagine that their shooting circle, as it always has been traditionally – will be a big strength for them,” she said.
“We’re probably a little less familiar with the defensive players but we are relatively familiar with the style, from last year.”
The New Zealand Netball team defeated Malawi in the three-test series in 2013, and NZ Netball captain Casey Kopua says the team will have to work hard for victory on Friday night.
The skills of Malawian shooter Mwai Kumwenda in the ANZ Championship impressed Kopua and she says the experience of playing in the world’s best Netball league has grown Kumwenda’s game.
“No ball is too high for her, she certainly can pull the ball out of the air,” she said.
“Also her speed and the reading of the play, and mixing with the New Zealand players and learning off them.”
Taumaunu says one of her focusses will be on managing the workload of the New Zealand players in the event which doesn’t conclude until August 3rd.
“We will be mindful of making sure that we spread the load.
“Our players don’t have a history of playing back-to-back games so we need to ensure that people are fresh, that we’re giving them enough court-time to practice, but enough recovery time to ensure that by the time we get to the business end of the competition – which is where we intend to be – that we have a group of players fresh and ready to play,” Taumaunu said.
Over the past few months, the team have been targeting specific areas of their game to work on and have spent time analysing the four losses to the Australian Diamonds in 2013. They have taken key learnings and made changes.
“We’ve had quite a bit of focus in getting the ball into the circle and decision making around shot taking, so those would be the two biggest learnings I think.
“When we went back and really reflected on that competition, although one of the margins was quite light, the area where there was quite a level of difference between us and Australia were quite marked.
“So it’s around getting the ball into the shooting circle, making better shooting decisions and our offensive rebounding.
“Between those three things and the opportunities we created, we should have scored at a higher rate.”
The opening NZ Netball match at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games will be live on SKY Sport 5 from 8.20pm Friday night.
For more information on the Netball component of the Commonwealth Games, please click here.