VITALITY ROSES OVERCOME SILVER FERNS AFTER PUSHING AUSTRALIA ALL THE WAY

The Vitality Roses exposed young talent and took a historic win in their second game against Australia then triumphed over New Zealand in a thrilling tour Down Under across September and October.

AUSTRALIA 70 -57 VITALITY ROSES

Beginning their trip against the reigning world champions, the Vitality Roses were defeated 70-57 in Adelaide in the first of their three-match test series. The visitors fought valiantly, with shooters Eleanor Cardwell, Helen Housby, Lois Pearson and Liv Tchine achieving an outstanding 98% accuracy, but Australia remained in control throughout.

“We had chances to come back, especially in that third quarter,” Helen Housby told Sky Sports.

“We showed glimpses of some really good stuff, it is now just about solidifying our combinations and getting used to playing at this level, as a lot of our girls haven’t done that. We showed some really good stuff and need to be more consistent.”

WATCH MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

AUSTRALIA 59 -61 VITALITY ROSES

The Vitality Roses did exactly as Housby suggested three days later in Sydney, mounting a superb late comeback to claim a dramatic 61-59 victory to level the series.

The hosts went into the final period with a 45-43 lead but the Vitality Roses produced a series of defensive turnovers and took the lead with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining, holding on to seal a famous victory – their first over Australia in Australia since the historic Commonwealth Games gold medal match in 2018.

Speaking after the game Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: “It’s very satisfying… it’s a hugely significant moment for this team in their journey… We have got debutants in here, we’ve got people who have never played Australia before, so to have found a way to win this early in this team’s evolution is really satisfying and it is significant.”

“Just amazing. It felt like we knew we could do it,” England’s Vitality Player of the Match Funmi Fadoju said. “We went up there and did it and I’m so proud of us. We just kept pushing, we kept going down and going up.”

AUSTRALIA 69 -56 VITALITY ROSES

The series concluded in Bendigo three days later and with all to play for Australia delivered a ruthless performance, outscoring the Vitality Roses in all four quarters to register a convincing 69-56 win.

“It is disappointing we couldn’t back up such a strong performance in Sydney,” England captain Fran Williams said.

“I know a few of us will feel we have let ourselves down today. We maybe let them get on top of us and outmuscle us. But I am just super proud of the effort. Winning last week was massive in our history. Doing that in front of an Australian crowd, which is a hard place to come and play. I feel like some of our young guns have stood up and that is really exciting.”

WATCH MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

READ HEAD COACH JESS THIRLBY’S REFLECTIONS ON AUSTRALIA SERIES

NEW ZEALAND 58 -59 VITALITY ROSES

Four days later, and the Vitality Roses had crossed the Tasman and were taking on New Zealand, competing for the Taini Jamison Trophy in a three-match test series beginning with a pulsating encounter at the Trusts Arena in Auckland.

With the Silver Ferns ranked second in the world heading into the series they were always going to prove tough opposition, but the visitors were up to the task. The two sides were locked 29-29 at half-time in a fiercely competitive tussle but the Vitality Roses took a one-point lead into the final quarter and held on to take the match 59-58. Liv Tchine led the way with 41 goals from 45 attempts, with Helen Housby adding 18.

Reflecting on the close nature of the game, Thirlby said: “They’re becoming a little bit of a habit between us and the Silver Ferns, and long may that continue because it’s such a healthy rivalry and we know it’s a brilliant contest every time we’re here. Today what I’m really impressed with is the will to win and the fact that we’re able to keep finding ways to get over the line.”

NEW ZEALAND 55 -59 VITALITY ROSES

Following the drama of the first match, the second game in Porirua, just north of the New Zealand capital Wellington, proved equally as thrilling.

The Vitality Roses trailed the hosts 31-27 early in the third quarter but fought back before surviving late pressure to take a decisive 2-0lead in the series, winning the Taini Jamison Trophy for the first time since 2021 and for the first time ever winning a three-match test series against New Zealand in the opening two games.

Goal shooter Tchine was named the Vitality Player of the Match after an outstanding performance which saw her score 41 goals at 89% accuracy. She was ably supported in the attacking end by fellow young talent Lois Pearson, who provided an outstanding 47 feeds across the course of the game.

Reflecting on Tchine’s Vitality Player of the Match performance, Vitality Roses captain Williams said: “I thought Liv was seamless today in how she presented for ball – she’s just playing out of her skin and I’m just so proud of her. I think she really stood up for us.”

NEW ZEALAND 61 -56 VITALITY ROSES

The series then moved on to Invercargill, where the Vitality Roses weren’t able to claim a 3-0clean sweep after slipping to a 61-56 defeat.

The Silver Ferns opened up a four-point lead by half-time and while the visitors narrowed the gap in the third quarter, New Zealand regained control in the closing stages to take a consolation victory.

Speaking after the match, Thirlby said: “It was another excellent contest, and whilst we’ve fallen short of the win, I really enjoyed the ebb and flow of the game, the pressure moments, and the fact we still created chances right to the last whistle. We wanted to just make sure that if we weren’t going to take the win that we’d forced them to really work hard for it.

“We had two big objectives both in Australia and here and it was to beat both nations on their home soil and to make sure we grow the experience across this team and we’ve done that in abundance and been able to get results that have most probably pleasantly surprised other people.”

The series win saw the Vitality Roses leapfrog New Zealand in the world rankings and move into second place – only the third time they had ever held that position since the rankings were introduced in 2008. To have achieved this feat against Australia and New Zealand with such a young squad, including several debutants, gives real hope for the future.