Compiled by Katrina Nissen, Jenny Sinclair and Drew Kennedy
Day 2 – Saturday 13th July
Match results
Australia 73 defeated Zimbabwe 37
Australia were pushed throughout the match by a well drilled, physical Zimbabwe outfit. The Zimbabwe defenders pushed the Diamonds into simple handling errors and turnovers. Full match report here.
Northern Ireland 67 defeated Sri Lanka 50
It was heartening to see Irish captain Caroline O’Hanlon play a full sixty minutes at centre in her 100thtest cap after a huge knock to body and head on day one against Australia – also for her team to record a victory but with nowhere near the solid margin they need for confidence against a tough Zimbabwe tomorrow. Noleen Armstrong also made the court after day 1 off, but it was both Emma Magee at goal attack scoring 29 goals at 91% and tenacious goal keeper Gemma Lawlor with seven gains in front of enormous Sri Lankan shooter Tharjini Sivalingam that made the big difference. “Siv” still sank 47 goals, but there will be no easy road tomorrow against in-form Australia.
New Zealand 78 defeated Barbados 35
The Silver Ferns put out a complete defensive performance against Barbados, taking an amazing 18 intercepts, Jane Watson the star. Bailey Mes impressed in her first match of the tournament, shooting at 91% before spending a quarter at wing attack. Barbados tried all manner of physical tactics but fell away in every quarter. Read the full match report here.
Malawi 87 defeated Singapore 38
Singapore had a very hard day at the office, with the speedy Malawi Queens forcing them into unstructured play and poor passes. Joyce Mvula and Jane Chimaliro piled on 27 goals in the first quarter due to good transition from all of Singapore’s eight turnovers. This allowed Malawi to rest star goal attack Sindi Sintowe most of the match, giving new player Alinafe Kamwala shine. Stalwart Thandie Galleta was the strength of the team today with an incredible 37 goal assists and 4 gains playing the whole match at centre, hurling excellent feeds to Kamwala and Mvula. It gets no easier for Singapore as they brace themselves for New Zealand, while tomorrow Malawi will have a cracker match against Barbados.
England 70 defeated Scotland 34
The brave Thistles were no match for the well drilled English side who blistered their opponents with their incredible ball speed. This unfortunately meant that the Thistles were often late for the challenge and spent much of the match out of play.
Fran Williams showed why she was a vital cog for the side by sticking to her opponent’s side and forcing handling errors. She was aptly guided by seasoned keepers Eboni-Usoro Brown and Geva Mentor who were constantly encouraging Williams.
Things went from bad to worse for the Thistles when English coach, Tracey Neville, opted to bring on fresh legs for the start of the third. The move produced the England’s best quarter of the match and the Thistles worst.
But England have little to celebrate because Dr Defender, Layla Guscoth, sustained a suspected season ending Achilles injury. Guscoth was seen grabbing her left Achilles area and mouthing ‘my Achilles. I’m done.’ She managed to hobble off the court and head straight for the change rooms, signalling for the team medical staff to follow.
Uganda 69 defeated Samoa 48
Enjoying a substantial advantage in physical stature and tougher recent international fixtures, the Uganda She Cranes were always going to cruise through day 2 against their Asia qualifier opposition. Peace Proscovia was only needed for 20 minutes, and Racheal Nanyonga spent a quarter at wing attack and one in goals, partly resting those two stars as well as important veteran Lilian Ajio. Even though Samoa had more possession at 52%, the Ugandan target shooters meant much quicker passage to goal. Samoa would have been relieved to win the final quarter 15-12, largely thanks to main goal shooter Tee Salanoa, but they will have to redeem pride tomorrow against tournament favourites England, while Uganda have a must-win clash against their closest rivals in their pool, Scotland.
Jamaica 68 defeated Trinidad and Tobago 43
After a slow start the Jamaicans easily subdued their Caribbean neighbours, the Trindad and Tobago Calypso Girls. Veteran Romelda Aiken and new Sunshine Girl Rebekah Robinson had worrying shooting returns, both under 60%, and creating doubt that Jamaica really do have rich shooting depth. It was Kalifa McCollin who lead the way for Trinidad and Tobago, having a secure contribution in three quarters at goal attack.
South Africa 90 defeated Fiji 35
A feisty encounter between the two sides saw bodies constantly wiping the floor. The Fijian side showed some promising signs, but in attempting to keep up with the South Africans, were uncontrolled in a number of their challenges. However, with half the team under 21, and height on their side, the Fijians should become a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
The South Africans played a very controlled game, coughing up just 13 turnovers. Zanele Zimbela starred in defence, coming up with a tally of 6 intercepts and 5 deflections to rival Australian Courtney Bruce’s heroics earlier in the day, while it was a rare quiet day at the office for Karla Pretorius who finished without an intercept to her name.
Coach Norma Plummer rotated all her team out on court, resting bodies ahead of tomorrow’s tournament-defining game against Jamaica.
What caught our eye
Congratulations to Caroline O’Hanlon (Northern Ireland, captain) who played her 100th test match today. It was a true captain game, with O’Hanlon racking up 52 feeds, 25 goal assists, 3 pick ups, 2 gains and 5 deflections.
Congratulations to Bongiwe Msomi (South Africa, captain) who played her 100th test match today. She is just the third South African athlete to reach this milestone. However, she is humble about her great achievement. She said, “I think we really stepped on to the court and gave a great performance today. That is what we came here to do and I am really proud of that. And for me is is about that and even the 100 can’t overtake that.”
National coach Norma Plummer said, “Bongiwe is just a gun. She is articulate, she leads by example, she makes South Africa proud. She’s one of those kids who would give you her heart, she’s just terrific.”
Swifts fans rejoiced as English player, Nat Haythornthwaite, appears to be fully recovered from her hamstring injury. She took the court for only one quarter on Day 1, yet played three quarters in today’s match, pairing in the third quarter at goal attack with shooter Rachel Dunn.
Ugandan fans celebrated their first win of the tournament in style. They gathered outside in the fan zone, where their singing and dancing delighted the large audience.
Rob’s early predictions.
Magpies Netball head coach, Rob Wright, was spotted in the crowd so of course, we had to go have a chat.
He’s got an interesting take on the round robin pools and what they mean in teams of where teams are sitting. He said, “I reckon these games you don’t get a lot about where teams are really sitting. I think it has been a bit different from day to day. Pool D has been the pool of death because there are three very good teams in there I reckon but one of them is going to be fighting off for thirteen to sixteen.”
His analysis of the top five teams: “I thought on day 1 Australia looked the best of the teams. I thought that when they made their changes they didn’t lose anything whereas some of the other big ones, though I haven’t watched South Africa so I can’t comment on them, but when the other big ones made changes I thought they didn’t click as quickly. Today I thought New Zealand was the best-looking team today. Australia probably wouldn’t be very happy with their performance from today.”
Rob sings great praise for New Zealand head coach, Noeline Taurua. He said, “With Noeline in charge I feel like they will keep building across the tournament quite. I thought she was really honest and gave them a five out of ten rating. I was thinking she was right. But they came out today and stepped it up big time. I said at the start of this that it would be an Australia / England final but obviously, that was before the Guscoth injury. If I went on today I would be going Australia / New Zealand.”
To hear Rob’s thoughts about how England will cope for the rest of the tournament without Layla Guscoth, head to our podcast.
On the injured list
Northern Ireland – In fantastic news Caroline O’Hanlon passed her concussion tests and was cleared to play today.
England – Goal defence, Layla Guscoth has sustained a suspected injury to her Achilles tendon. As she hobbled from court she mouthed to her team, ‘My Achilles, I’m done’.
South Africa. Maryka Holzhausen was coathangered by the Fijian goal keeper and hit the deck in a nasty fall. She continued to play, but might be sore tomorrow.
National coach Norma Plummer said, “It got a little bit rugged in the end, and we tell the players to back off as much as they need to. We had the score on the board and we didn’t want to lose anyone. We dropped back into a zone defence, and using space defence. It allows us to use a different defensive structure.”
Who was spotted in the crowd
Paul Reynolds of the Women’s Sport Network
“If you avoid error, you often avoid success.”
The Women’s Sport Network (WSN) looks at how women and girls engage in sport and the issues that put them off, including body image, physical strength, inner confidence, fear of judgement and personal hygiene. They’ve produced Mojo manuals for a range of sports, which provide a valuable guide around these issues.
Alanna Antcliffe (physiotherapist, Diamonds) and Netball Australia have collaborated on the Mojo Netball manual. It includes the Knee Program, which was designed to help prevent serious knee injuries through specific strength and conditioning exercises.
“We’ve also been working with Dumisani Chauke (former South African netballer) who runs a charity that helps girls in the bush who see netball as a great sport to empower girls. Along with netball skills, the girls are taught a range of life fundamentals, such as good hygiene, nutrition and hydration. The Netball Mojo is also being translated into Zulu, with the idea being that she can engage more girls in netball. She can also start to talk to some of the bigger supporters of community sport in South Africa such as Spar, to engage their help with the program.”
The WSN has also been working with Molly Rhone, outgoing President of the INF, in a new program known as Creating Choices. The program will also look at engaging women in netball.
Paul said, “It’s a privilege to see the empowerment, the strength and the confidence that netball brings.”
People can go to the website www.wsnet.co.uk and download a copy of Find Your Netball Mojo for free. They can also be purchased, and an app is currently being developed which will be available at minimal cost.
Interviews
Ledwin Dondo, Coach, Zimbabwe, “We are definitely going to be in the top eight. We will win tomorrow. That is actually our tactic when we came here.”
“The crowd makes us feel happy. We never thought we would have such a following. It is tremendous. I am happy about that.”
Courtney Bruce, Australia, “Sahz [Sarah Klau] was definitely yelling a lot out there for me, and telling me what to do in the breaks. That’s fantastic! We’re really just about trying to build each other up – we obviously want to win the trophy, that’s gonna take all 12 players. The best way that we can communicate and help each other out is what we’re gonna do. We’re everyone’s best sister out there!”
Noeline Taurua, New Zealand coach, “I thought it was definitely a step up defensively on our part from yesterday’s game. I thought we looked tighter as a defensive unit and created a lot of turnovers. They were pretty torrid out there especially in their defensive end, so we were able to withstand that pressure and keep toiling away.”
Latonia Blackman, Barbados on her long and decorated career. “I’m very proud of gaining my 100th cap, being the most capped player in Barbados, getting the award of “Senior Sportsperson” in 2017.”
Jade Clarke, England on her injured teammate, Layla Guscoth. “We will always stick together no matter what challenges we come up against. Layla is in our thoughts, she’s being assessed at the hotel right now, so we are not thinking the worst just yet. We’ll get back to the hotel and get around her.”
Eboni Usoro-Brown, England on being prepared for all eventualities: “I think you have to be at the elite level, because anything can happen. Yesterday a player got sent off and you have to prepare for all those eventualities.”
Romelda Aiken, Jamaica on lifting her shooting stats: “I feel like crap. I didn’t perform as to how I wanted to. For me it is just getting myself back into netball and getting into the swing of it. I didn’t really step up tonight but I will be looking to improve my performance tomorrow.”
Bongi Msomi, South Africa, on being a role model or mentor to the less experienced athletes on her team. “I would think so. I am a people’s person even off the court and I just love being with the girls and when they are around me I want to be more of a sister and really be there for them when they need me. So, I feel like we are in an environment where we really care for each other and with the experience I have I can be a really calming influence. So, yeah, I would like to think I am a role model.”
The Daily Liverpool Scoop podcast is available at https://www.netballscoop.com/2019/06/daily-liverpool-scoop-podcast/
Day 2 in pictures
Pool D has been the pool of death because there are three very good teams in there I reckon but one of them is going to be fighting off for thirteen to sixteen.”
That can’t happen. The fourth team in Pool D will go into Group E, as do the fourth team in each of Groups A, B and C. Then those 4 teams play for 13 – 16.
Thanks for featuring Bongi Msomi in this article and on the podcast. What a champion.
Re my first comment – it could happen one of those three good teams – England, Uganda and Scotland – loses their game to the not good team – Samoa. Scotland and Uganda have already beaten Somoa. So the only way that one of the good teams can be E4 is if England are beaten by Samoa and then the winner of Uganda v Scotland wins by a lot so Samoa become E3 on %. I can’t see it happening.