Silver Ferns know they need to lift against England

Silver Ferns coach Janine Southby says the focus is getting their game plan right ahead of Wednesday’s clash with the England Roses in Auckland.

A 63-56 victory over South Africa in their opening Netball Quad Series clash on the weekend was described as a “really good hit-out”, but Southby knows they’ll need to go up another gear against the Roses.

“England is a very experienced side and we know that they’ll have the fire in the belly after their loss to Australia,” Southby said.

“We have a lot of respect for them, but we need to focus on ourselves and make sure we execute our game plan right – playing with the flair and capabilities we know we have.”

Southby gave the team a pass mark on Saturday night, saying defence would be a focus.

“I think there was some great stuff on attack, but defensively I think we’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said.

“We were slow and we chased a lot and that’s certainly not what we were planning to do.

“We’ve got some time ahead of Wednesday night to really address those things and make improvements.

“It was our first game for the season - it’s a long season through to Commonwealth Games. But we know we need to be better and really lift our game to face England.”

The Silver Ferns next match in the Netball Quad Series is against the England Roses on Wednesday 30 August at The Trusts Arena, Auckland – GET TICKETS.

Can’t make it to the game? Fans can catch all the action live on SKY Sport 3 from 7.30pm, followed by Australia v South Africa. Prime will show delayed coverage at 10.30pm.