NZ Netball Team Through to Semi-Finals

The top four teams have been decided at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Netball competition with New Zealand well and truly sealing their semi-final spot with a commanding final quarter to down Jamaica by eight goals on Wednesday night.

The New Zealand Netball team only play tournament-style events twice every four years, at the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup the following year.

With two days off to recover and prepare for the matches ahead, the NZ Netball team are unbeaten in the event so far and will face the might of England on Saturday night, while Australia will play Jamaica for a place in the final.

It’s been a tough road for the kiwis, having to reshuffle the line-up due to injuries to three shooters within two matches in the pool round.

The Week in Review

A thrilling three goal victory over Malawi, and comprehensive win over hosts Scotland and Northern Ireland, kept the two-time defending champions on track to make the semi-finals stage of the competition.

“There was improvement from the match against Malawi,” NZ Netball coach Waimarama Taumaunu commented, following the game against hosts Scotland.

 “But there are still some things we want to keep working on.

“I was pretty impressed with the defensive work of the group with a number of changes through that defensive line against Scotland, so that was good.”

The kiwis are one of two unbeaten teams at the tournament, alongside Australia, the New Zealanders being pushed in their opening encounter against Malawi, but still coming away with the win 50-47.

Defender Anna Harrison says it was good to blow out the cobwebs and that despite the close result against Malawi, it was important to keep focussed on the end goal.

“It was a good step up to start off our campaign, the matches against Scotland and Northern Ireland weren’t perfect either, but in saying that, we didn’t want to peak too early in the tournament,” she said.

Debutant international shooter Ellen Halpenny took the court for her first match in the black dress in the second match against Scotland only to take a tumble midway through the second stanza, injuring her ankle. The 24 year old remained on court for a time before being replaced by Cathrine Latu.

New Zealand enjoyed a rest day, before facing Northern Ireland. New Zealand had a strong winning performance beating Northern Ireland 78-29 but a game in which both Maria Tutaia (foot injury) and Cathrine Latu (calf strain) both left the court with injuries.

New Zealand then faced Saint Lucia, a largely unknown team having played each other only once, back in 1979. Due to the number of injuries in the New Zealand shooting circle, NZ coaches called on the services of midcourter Liana Leota to take on the role of goal attack supporting Jodi Brown in the shooting circle.  The NZ Netball team swept past Saint Lucia 88-19.

Jamaica was ear-marked before the Games as potentially the toughest opposition for the kiwi team and the Sunshine Girls certainly lived up to those expectations throughout the week, sweeping through their pool matches with ease. Wednesday nights’ match was a thriller, New Zealand needing to pull out all the stops to secure victory over the world’s fourth ranked side.

With Latu and Tutaia continuing to recover from calf and foot injuries respectively, the shooting load fell on Jodi Brown and Halpenny, who recovered well from her sprained ankle. The key to winning the match was a superb effort from defenders Casey Kopua, Leana de Bruin and Joline Henry who played with tenacity, all three experienced players using all of their wits and guile against the might of the Jamaicans.

Brown and Halpenny stood up under untold pressure to consistently sink the shots which mattered, despite being marked by 6’5” defender Romelda Aiken. At the opposing end, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid was outstanding for Jamaica, but efforts of the NZ defenders kept her access to the ball in check.

It was a gutsy performance from a team especially in light of the injuries to two key players. New Zealand’s semi-final against England is on Saturday night from 8.50pm with live coverage from the SSE Hydro on SKY Sport 6.