Silver Ferns set for Nations Cup in January

The Silver Ferns will open their 2024 international campaign against England, Australia and Uganda over two weekends in London and Leeds in January.

The early season Northern Hemisphere series has been a feature on the Silver Ferns calendar in recent years and offers the opportunity for a quality challenge against top-rated opponents in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup.

Australia beat England in the final of this year’s Netball World Cup in South Africa while the Silver Ferns finished fourth and an ever-improving Uganda had their best World Cup finish when placing fifth.

The Australian Diamonds and the Silver Ferns remain on top of the world rankings with England third and Uganda currently in seventh place.

The first weekend of Vitality Netball Nations Cup matches (January 21 - 22, NZT) will be played at OVO Arena Wembley in London before moving to First Direct Arena in Leeds (January 28 - 29, NZT) where international netball will be played for the first time.

The Silver Ferns had a strong finish to the 2023 international season when they came from 2-0 down to win the next two matches of the Constellation Cup against Australia, the Diamonds clinching the trophy with a superior goal percentage.

“We always look forward to this series to start our year and it’s a great opportunity to see where we sit heading into a new four-year cycle,” Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua said.

“With some new line-ups and personnel, we made incremental improvements at the tail-end of this year and will be looking to keep pushing our standards.

“These are quality teams we are going to come up against in this series, each offering varying styles, so it’s an important stepping stone for us in adapting and progressing.”

Netball Nations Cup:

Sunday, January 21 – OVO Arena Wembley, London
Australia vs New Zealand, 4am (NZT)
England vs Uganda, 6am (NZT)

Monday, January 22 – OVO Arena Wembley, London
New Zealand vs Uganda, 3am (NZT
England vs Australia, 5am (NZT)

Sunday, January 28 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Australia vs Uganda, 4am (NZT)
England vs New Zealand, 6am (NZT)

Monday, January 29 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Third place play-off: 3am (NZT)
Final: 5.15am (NZT)