Netball Scoop: Cape Town Wrap – Day 3, Sunday 30 July

Results

Group C – Wales 68 def Sri Lanka 56

Group A – Australia 101 def Fiji 32

Group B – Malawi 84 def Barbados 48

Group D – New Zealand 80 def Singapore 19

Group B – England 62 def Scotland 37

Group D – Uganda 74 def Trinidad and Tobago 34

Group A – Tonga 55 def Zimbabwe 46

Group C – Jamaica 67 def South Africa 49 

 

Injuries

There was an 8 minute delay in the Wales v Sri Lanka game as Dulangi Wannithilake (Sri Lanka) copped an accidental hit in the stomach. Wannithilake vomited on the side of the court, was replaced, before later returning to the game. 

Ash Brazill (Australia) was rested for load management purposes.

Whitney Sounness (New Zealand) was rested as she’s managing an ongoing calf niggle. 

Grace Nweke (New Zealand) appeared to sustain a mild knee injury in the third quarter, and retreated to the bench with an ice pack. She is being assessed by medical staff, but Dame Noeline Taurua stated in the post match press conference that the team are optimistic that she will be able to continue. 

Imogen Allison (England) left the court in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. It appeared nasty at the time, but hopefully she will be able to play out the tournament. 

 

 

 

Milestones

Congratulations to Felisitus Kwangwa (Zimbabwe) on 100 tests

Happy 23rd birthday to Jamie Lim (Singapore).

 

 

Stat Chat

The first Group stage has been completed, with each team playing three games so far. The most goals scored is 272 by Australia in Group A. The fewest goals conceded is 90 by New Zealand in Group D.

The smallest winning margin was four goals when Fiji upset Zimbabwe 52-48, while the biggest winning margin was 80 goals when Jamaica defeated Sri Lanka 105-25.

Today’s win by Australia was just the sixth time they’ve scored more than 100 goals in a match, and just the 3rd time at a Netball World Cup. The other two were in 1991 in Sydney.

 

Let’s Talk!

Despite running a completely different starting line, Australia looked sleek from the first whistle in their 101-32 defeat of Fiji to confirm their position on top of Group A. Fiji was left to wait until the final matches of the day to learn that they claimed third position in the group. 

The combination of Sophie Garbin and Cara Koenen is one that’s rarely seen in goals, but the duo had the polish of a long standing partnership. Garbin’s stint at goal attack, while less than successful domestically, has added movement to her game, while Koenen added strong defensive pressure to her fleetness of foot. They also screened well for each other, an essential against some of the higher ranked nations. 

Garbin ended up with 54/60 across three quarters, while Koenen recorded 3 gains during her 30 minutes at goal attack. 

The Australian defenders were in fine form, pulling in 20 gains between them, including 11 from MVP Courtney Bruce in just 30 minutes of court time. Paige Hadley has looked driven with another incredibly fast, yet controlled, outing. 

Australia has been steadfast in using purposeful rotations, but were more experimental today, giving a few players time in their secondary positions, including Koenen at goal attack, Jamie-Lee Price and Sunday Aryang at wing defence, and Kiera Austin at wing attack. 

Ash Brazill didn’t take the court, apparently on the grounds of load management rather than injury. 

Fijian goal keeper Kelera Nawai-Caucau came up with five gains in a strong outing, while the shooters used were generally accurate and had some great interplay. While Fiji struggle for funding and resources, their skill levels and body control have improved significantly in recent years. Cathy Fellows has been a good addition to their specialist coaching team. 

 

 

 

Wales continued their competitive tournament, with a 68-56 win over Sri Lanka. Georgia Rowe starred with 49/50 at 98% accuracy, while Ella Powell-Davies topped the defensive statistics with 6 gains and Bethan Dyke was busy in the midcourt. 

We’ve seen very little of Tharjini Sivalingam this series, but in her 30 minutes on court, she was a pillar of strength for Sri Lanka, finishing with 33/35 at 94% accuracy.

The Feathers were far more clinical across the board, recording just 18 turnovers to Sri Lanka’s 27, while pulling in 15 gains compared to six. With this win, Wales finishes in third position in Group C, while Sri Lanka is now relegated to playing off for the bottom four.

 

 

Given the Malawi team controversy (see below), all eyes were on the team, and whether or not Mwai Kumwenda would play. She did, starting at goal attack in front of Joyce Mvula, with the tall shooting combination proving difficult for Barbados to counter. Malawi won the encounter comfortably, in a scoreline of 84-48, while Kumwenda spent the entire match out on court, in a show of team solidarity. 

The Queens proved to be far more clinical than their opposition, finishing with 12 gains compared to 5, and just nine turnovers compared to 29. However, the Bajan connections have continued to grow across the tournament, something that was always going to be an issue given their lack of court time together. 

This result sees Malawi finish second in Group B and they progress to Group F, while Barbados finishes at the bottom of the group and goes to Group E.  

 

 

Singapore’s start was unprecedented, down only 7-17 to defending champions New Zealand at quarter time. Their accurate fast passes and quick deception was a good lesson to all teams. The Silver Ferns did have to operate with somewhat new connections, with Kelly Jury being less effective overall at wing defence, a tactic to cover space and create opportunities for the backline. The Kiwi lines were crowded and they couldn’t read or keep up with the shorter Singaporeans.

The remainder of the match saw return to expectations, with the renowned New Zealand six-woman zone defence across the defensive transverse line gifting many intercepts to Phoenix Karaka. Grace Nweke’s appearance was short lived, as she sustained a mild knee injury due to a hard knock in the third quarter. Both coaches confirmed they expected her to be fine. The Silver Ferns did seem stilted at times, perhaps with a let-down effect after a fantastic performance the day before against Uganda.

Singapore kept focus and successfully played out their plan, particularly excelling at pickups, where they outdid New Zealand. Aqilah Andin had a particularly good game at wing and then goal defence, her clean and tight marking consistent and contributing to the safe drive of the ball through court.

With their 80-19 victory, New Zealand sealed top spot in Group D, while the Singapore team finished at the bottom and goes to Group E.

 

 

While England have won all ten of their World Cup encounters against Scotland, the Thistles pushed them all the way. Shooting percentage was the only difference between the two sides early on, with the Roses averaging almost 20% higher than Scotland. However, the Thistles have improved markedly under Tamsin Greenway, and with greater exposure to the Super League. 

Geva Mentor wound back the clock with 7 gains in just 30 minutes for England, while Chelsea Pitman was busy at wing attack and Helen Housby reliable at goal attack. The inexperienced Liv Tchine showed promising signs for the future, although her hands were soft at times. 

Scotland continued to rotate their players, perhaps with their pool  place already confirmed and one eye on their clash with Australia in just 15 hours. Coach Tamsin Greenway said, “It’s a case of making combinations that are realistic, and are also working on the progress that we wanted. We wanted width in attack today and we showed it, we wanted back space in the circle and we showed it. We’ve got to keep winning ball on turnover and that was great today.”

Greenway went on to say that it “sucks” coaching against her former national side.

 

 

After a really tough battle against world number two New Zealand yesterday, Uganda decided to rest some of their starting players such as NSL shooting star, Mary Cholhok. Trinidad and Tobago, however, came out of the blocks firing, keeping it within 3 goals at the end of the first quarter. There was an early blood call for T&T wing defence Jeresia McEachran who brought extra height and defensive pressure in the midcourt. 

The introduction of Cholhok in the second quarter grounded the Ugandan team, providing a real target for the feeders. Margret Baagala the centre was once again a revelation for the She Cranes. The pocket rocket had 55 feeds and 39 goal assists, continuing her strong form. 

The wheels came a bit undone for the T&T side as the game went on, being forced into 35 general play turnovers for the game. The attacking side could not combat the elusive and persistent pressure of Ugandan goal keeper, Muhameed Haniish. T&T struggled in the area of defence making only 3 intercepts in the entire match.

 

 

The host nation South Africa took on their biggest competitors in their pool today, Jamaica, and the drama was on from the first whistle. It saw Lenize Potgeiter make her first court appearance for the 2023 Netball World Cup, shooting at 100% in the first quarter. It could not, however, combat the powerhouse that is bookends Jhaniele Fowler and Shamera Sterling, who helped take Jamaica to an early 4 goal lead at the end of the first quarter. 

Captain Bongi Msomi stood up for the South African side taking on most of the load with center pass received, along with Phumza Maweni who forced some uncharacteristic errors from the Jamaican captain. The introduction of the energetic Nichole Taljaard really opened up the attacking end of the Proteas and added some great defensive pressure with an early intercept. 

The third quarter defined the game, however. The Jamaican defence kept South Africa to 3 goals for the entire quarter, while shooting 20 of their own. The change of Jodi-Ann Ward to goa defence and Latanya Wilson to wing defence was a master stroke, while Shanice Beckford slipped the leash at goal attack. South Africa were unable to halt the slide, and players were left to try and work themselves out of trouble rather than changes being made.  

The last quarter for both teams saw a bunch of fresh legs and combinations on courts. The introduction of Venter at goal shooter brought more structure into the attacking end of South Africa, and was the only quarter that SA won, 20-15. The Jamaicans were able to give some of their stars a rest during the last quarter with the game beyond doubt.

 

Tonga defeated Zimbabwe 55-46 to finish second in their pool, and leave the Gems winless. It relegates the African nation to the bottom of the pool, and the highest they can finish is 13th, an underperformance by their standards. 

There was an interesting statistic coming into this match. Both countries had played 10 World Cup games prior to this, and scored the exact same number of goals (484). It was Tonga which brought up goal number 500 first, and they continued to edge further ahead as the game wore on. 

The Tala’s Uneeq Palavi had an excellent night at the post, finishing with 39/42, but it was a defensively oriented game. The Tala hauled in an incredible 26 possession gains, with Kelea Iongi a standout on 13 at goal keeper. In her 100th test match, Felistus Kwangwa was the Gems’ best, with nine.

 

What’s News?

Netball Scoop’s Georgia Doyle had the privilege of getting out on a World Cup court. She won the shooting competition, despite a few hiccups with her shooting accuracy.

 

The Malawi team has been embroiled in controversy overnight, to the point where the country’s President has had to step in. During yesterday’s match against England, Joyce Mvula had to leave the court with injury, and Mwai Kumwenda declined to substitute, saying she wasn’t sufficiently warmed up. It left the tiny Sindi Simtowe to hold down the shooter’s bib. 

In an uncomfortable retaliation, her 11 teammates posted a video on social media, partially blaming the loss on her absence. 

In response, the Netball Association of Malawi intervened, putting out a statement that the situation was being “managed”. The President of Malawi also contacted his consulate in South Africa, directing them to speak to the Queens. 

During an interview straight after Malawi’s game today, Kumwenda said that she hadn’t seen the clip, but there was “nothing wrong.”

In a press conference shortly afterwards, team coach Sam Kunyenda said that teams are like families that squabble, the matter was resolved, and they were looking ahead to further games.  

 

Malawi controversy.

Here’s a link to a video of Mwai Kumwenda’s interview after yesterday’s loss:
▶️ https://t.co/pYX9XlaFeh

— Florence Mwale (@florence_mwale1) July 30, 2023

 

 

Mwai’s response when asked about the controversy.

 

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Social Scoop

Hear from Lenize Potgieter about her first 2023 Netball World Cup match and the rising shooting talent in South Africa.

 

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What’s Next?

 

Groups and points carried forward for next stage:

Group F
(Top 3 teams in Groups A & B)
F1 – Australia . 4 pts
F2 – Tonga . 2 pts 
F3 – Fiji . 0 pts
F4 – England . 4 pts
F5 – Malawi . 2 pts
F6 – Scotland . 0 pts

Group G
(Top 3 teams in Groups C & D)
G1 – Jamaica . 4 pts
G2 – South Africa . 2 pts
G3 – Wales . 0 pts
G4 – New Zealand . 4 pts
G5 – Uganda . 2 pts 
G6 – Trinidad & Tobago . 0 pts

Group E 
(4th team in each group)
E1 – Zimbabwe
E2 – Barbados
E3 – Sri Lanka
E4 – Singapore

 

Tomorrow’s matches

9am
Aust v Scotland
Zimbabwe v Barbados

11am
Wales v New Zealand
Fiji v Malawi

4pm
Jamaica v Uganda
Sri Lanka v Singapore

6pm
South Africa v Trinidad & Tobago
Tonga v England

 

Links

*Champion Data
https://mc.championdata.com/nwc2023/

*Qtr Time Pod

https://linktr.ee/Qtrtimepod

*The Netball Show

https://pod1.co/netballshow