Francois pumped to make history in Nelson
The smiles and cheers said it all as the Silver Ferns were welcomed to Nelson by their local SilverFans.
But perhaps the biggest cheer of all was reserved for the local netballer from Motueka, Shannon Francois.
“I’m super pumped and have been looking forward to this all year,” Francois said in between getting swamped for autographs.
“It’s so nice to be home, it’s just amazing, I can’t believe this is happening.”
Sunday’s opening Test of the New World Netball Series for the Taini Jamison Trophy against the Jamaican Sunshine Girls is the first time Nelson has hosted the Silver Ferns.
Adding to the history – Nelson becomes only the 13th New Zealand city to host a Silver Ferns Test Match – and only the fourth in South Island.
“It’s wicked. I remember the day when I was one of these girls and anybody famous that came to the region you were so excited to see,” she said.
“It’s pretty cool being on this side and seeing how far I’ve come.”
Francois will have plenty of hometown support come Sunday night, with many of her family and friends also in the crowd.
“It means everything – they’re my support system and they’ve gotten me here,” Francois said.
“They were the ones that drove me to training two hours each way. They’ve done so much for me, so it’ll be great to have them here and play in front of them.”
While in Nelson, Francois took the SKY Sport Netball Zone crew to meet her family on their orchard in Motueka – fans can catch all the action from the visit on Wednesday night’s Netball Zone episode following the Test Match.
But first, don’t forget to tune into SKY Sport on Sunday night from 7.30pm to catch all the action from the first Test of the New World Netball Series for the Taini Jamison Trophy.