AUSTRALIA PIP THE ROSES ONCE MORE

After their series win against South Africa in December, the Vitality Roses took on Uganda, New Zealand and world champions Australia in the Nations Cup over successive weekends in January, at Wembley and Leeds.

Coming into the Nations Cup, there was no doubt that the Roses meant business. As Helen Housby said before the tournament: “We’ve got the mindset that we want to win every game, whether it’s against Australia, New Zealand or another team. The minimum is making the final. That’s something we really want to focus on and then you get to practise how finals feel and the nerves that come with it.”

Vitality Roses 62 v 56 Uganda She-Cranes

At Wembley on the first day of competition, after Australia had beaten New Zealand 63-50, the Roses got past a combative Uganda, the final 15 minutes seeing them stretch clear after they had been just one goal up after three quarters.

“Uganda came out and really gave it to us – but we can definitely be better. I have experience of these kind of games and you have to be in the situation to learn how you’ll react. Some of these girls are still learning how to play in front of a crowd like this.” Helen Housby

Vitality Roses 59 v 61 Australian Diamonds

After New Zealand came through 65-60 against Uganda, the crowd was treated to a repeat of the Netball World Cup final. In a pulsating encounter at Wembley, which marked Helen Housby’s hundredth cap, the Vitality Roses came from five points down at 33-28 at the half-time break to lead by two at 45-43, but just failed to hold on.

“I loved the fight. But missed shots, a few passing errors, those are things we have to keep working on and get rid of from our game.” Jess Thirlby

Vitality Roses 58 v 57 New Zealand Silver Ferns

In a shoot-out to see who would take on Australia in the final (the Diamonds had beaten Uganda 63-49 earlier in the day), the Vitality Roses edged out New Zealand by one goal in front of raucous crowd at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, in what was another incredibly tight match between two evenly matched sides.

The match ebbed and flowed but England led by three before the final quarter and just held on to win, Funmi Fadoju popping up with a monumental interception just seconds before the end.

“We’re trying to pit ourselves against Australia and New Zealand as often as we can. We’re not in a space yet where we can expect to be winning these games by big margins, and as much as it might not look like it, I’m quite enjoying that we’re being tested in the way we need to be.” Jess Thirlby

Vitality Roses 49 v 69 Australian Diamonds

In the final, Australia scored a dominant victory over the Vitality Roses in Leeds. The home side finished the opening quarter strongly to reduce the Diamonds’ lead to four, but the world champions were at their very best to open up a 33-23 half-time advantage. Dominant third and fourth quarters saw the imperious Australians increase their advantage, leading to a 20-point victory margin.

“We know we’re capable, but we have to be smarter. I’m super proud that we’ve put ourselves in this position, and we’ve got three years to keep building on that.” Jess Thirlby