VITALITY ROSES TAKE ON AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

As you read this, the Vitality Roses are taking on the ultimate challenge of back-to-back away test series against the might of world numbers one and two, Australia and New Zealand.

The Vitality Roses will play Australia in a three-match test series on Thursday 19 September in Adelaide, Sunday 22 September in Sydney and Wednesday 25 September in Bendigo.

They will then travel to New Zealand to face the Silver Ferns in the Taini Jamison Trophy on Sunday 29 September in Auckland, Wednesday 2 October in Porirua and Sunday 6 October in Invercargill.

The squad selected for this international tour features eight athletes who were part of the history-making squad who took England to their first ever Netball World Cup final in 2023.

Meanwhile, Lois Pearson has the opportunity to make her Vitality Roses debut, with this marking her first inclusion in a senior Vitality Roses squad, while Jess Shaw received a call to join up with the squad, meaning that she too has the opportunity to make her Vitality Roses debut. The squad also sees the return of 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Beth Cobden, who made her last appearance for England in 2022 against Australia.

The Vitality Roses last met both Australia and New Zealand at the Vitality Netball Nations Cup (VNNC) in January 2024 where England were narrowly defeated 59-61 by Australia in the group stage match, followed by a 49-69 loss in the final. Against New Zealand, England picked up a 58-57 win in a thrilling match that was decided in the final seconds.

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “I’m both excited and curious to see what this evolving Vitality Roses squad can do against the world number one and two as we see familiar names and a potential Vitality Roses debutant alike earning selection for these upcoming series.

“With the Netball World Cup in 2027 firmly in our minds, we continue to look to grab these opportunities to test ourselves individually and collectively as we aim to know and close the gap against our toughest opponents. We have familiar and experienced players, some still transitioning from what has been an impact role to a starting seven role since the Netball World Cup, as well as those with few or no caps as yet against these nations. We also have a potential Vitality Roses debutant in Lois Pearson after impressing in this year’s Netball Super League. There’s so much to be excited about in this squad, not least the welcome return of Beth Cobden after a year out of the Vitality Roses programme in 2023. Her character and leadership add strength to a team full of leaders across all areas of the court.

“We have made huge progress over the last few years, proving we can go toe-to-toe and beat these world leading teams in standalone performances, but we know we need to find a way to compete for longer and sustain and elevate our performance levels game on game, and there’s no better opportunity to do that than these back-to-back series.”

Performance Director David Parsons added: “We are excited to see how this Vitality Roses squad embraces the challenge of playing back-to-back series against the two highest ranked teams in the world.

We have always enjoyed tough contests against Australia and New Zealand so these series provide an exciting opportunity for players to test themselves against both nations, whilst also providing us the opportunity to benchmark our progress as we look towards the Netball World Cup in 2027.”

All matches will be available to watch live on Sky Sports, check out the dates and times below so that you don’t miss a minute!