ROUND 3 of the inaugural Nations Cup is set to shake things up, with this thee last opportunity for each country to cement their chances in the final series on Sunday. Only New Zealand is undefeated so far, while both Jamaica and England have one win on the board each and South Africa is yet to win a match.

New Zealand vs. South Africa

New Zealand will look to make it a clean sweep heading into this match against South Africa, and while both sides boast a wealth of talent the Ferns are more likely than not to get another solid win on the board thanks to their form and creativity with ball in hand. While South Africa has an impressive lineup, given the physicality of the Silver Ferns they will need to lift their game to not get left behind in this one. The Spar Proteas challenged both England and Jamaica this week already so will have some form behind them coming into this one, but given both sides lost fairly convincingly to the Ferns, New Zealand will be full of confidence. With key cogs across the court for the Proteas, the Ferns will want to use their defensive prowess to hunt every ball, with the likes of Phoenix Karaka and Jane Watson leading the charge from the back end. South Africa will have plenty in their defensive arsenal however, with high flying Karla Pretorius able to create something out of nothing. Through the midcourt, look for an intriguing battle with plenty of players from both sides able to rotate through to have an impact in short spurts, with the likes of Whitney Souness and Gina Crampton able to feed seamlessly for the Ferns, while the speed of Bongi Msomi out in front will help to take the Proteas up to the next level. Both sides have impressive talent at the post, with Ferns captain, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and South Africa’s Lenize Potgieter able to impact wherever required, with accuracy and game smarts to boot. While fellow South African goalers in Ine-Mari Venter and Sigi Burger have plenty of height, what Watson and Karaka lack will be made up by their ability to apply hands  over pressure and deny entry to the goal circle with their respective vision and timing to intercept the ball. 

England vs. Jamaica

With one win apiece for the tournament so far, this is the last opportunity for a side to put a second win on the board to finish well. Both sides were challenged by South Africa but ultimately did not survive the wrath of the Ferns, making for a tighter contest as the winner heads into the finals to take on New Zealand once more. Jamaica have been error-ridden to say the least throughout the series while England are feeling out a relatively inexperienced line-up of players, making for an interesting battle of determination and talent abounds. A player with talent oozing is Jamaica’s Shamera Sterling, but with her long reach and aerial ability comes a massive penalty count that England will want to take advantage of in this matchup. Likely to come up against Sterling are George Fisher and Ellie Cardwell, with both players able to switch up their positioning to create a more versatile line-up, rotating through goal attack with their clever movement despite standing at 188cm and 186cm respectively. Captain, Nat Haythornthwaite will want the Roses to continue their solid run after a good win over the Proteas yesterday, while fellow midcourter Jade Clarke will hope to lead from the front in centre, but will have an interesting time through the midcourt with plenty of inexperienced Jamaican talent able to rotate through where required. The real question for the Roses is if they will be able to stop Jamaican captain and shooting sensation Jhaniele Fowler, whose height and ability to find space in the circle is key for the side’s success. Newly capped Kate Shimmin may be tasked with the goal keeper bib given she has experience against Fowler in the Suncorp Super Netball, and with plenty of talent in Razia Quashie, Stacey Francis and Fran Williams, the side will hope to reign supreme this time around.