THE second international test match between the New Zealand Silver Ferns and England Roses could not have gone more different than the first, with a revved up Roses side coming in with a point to prove despite a shaky start. While the Roses played a full strength outfit though, the Ferns blooded up some less experienced talent to give them valuable court-time on the international stage, eventually seeing England claim a huge 10-goal victory.
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It was a very defensive start from the two sides, with New Zealand boasting a very different starting lineup to the first match while the Roses started its seven from the second half of the first clash. Silver Ferns’
Te Paea Selby-Rickit and
Tiana Metuarau got the start in goals with both starting well, while it was a different story from the Roses with both
George Fisher and
Ellie Cardwell missing their first attempts of the game and
Kelly Jury doing the work on Cardwell to shut down her clean movement. The Ferns defence was stifling and stingy, not letting any easy ball past them into the goal circle. While the Roses defence was similarly impactful, with
Layla Guscoth in particular having another hot start in goal defence, the side had a hard time converting off their opportunities, scoring jut two goals from their seven gains in a showing of the Ferns defensive shut-out. The Roses lacked a bit of speed in their attack with Cardwell shut out – shooting just one goal from four attempts – and Fisher taking time to warm up to the physicality, while
Laura Malcolm and
Serena Guthrie seemed to be driving to the same spots with the close marking from
Sam Winders and
Claire Kersten forcing the Roses to clump together. A low-scoring, highly defensive first quarter saw the Ferns lead by a narrow three-goal margin at the first break.
A quarter-time belting from the England coaching team saw the Roses pick up their act in the second quarter, with
Sophie Drakeford-Lewis injected into the contest and not shying away from her role as playmaker. At the other end, Guscoth and
Geva Mentor upped the ante to run the Ferns attack ragged, but it did not seem to phase Selby-Rickit or Metuarau who, despite seeming to play the same role in the goal circle, both used their individual flair and competitiveness to maintain control in the attack. Guscoth and Mentor’s gains were still not consistently being utilised though, with the Ferns retaining a three-goal margin. The defensive pressure across the entire court saw no pass go un-defended, with the pressure from Fitzpatrick and Jury continuing to force errors in the Roses attack, despite Fisher and Drakeford-Lewis’ best efforts. With just over seven minutes on the clock Mentor was forced off the court with the blood rule thanks to an errant elbow to the nose seeing
Fran Williams injected into the action, and while that could have painted the end for the Roses the side continued to fight hard for every ball. The injection of
Jade Clarke paid off in the centre with the veteran working much better with Malcolm, but still hesitating too much on the feed credit to the workrate of the Ferns defence. Despite an improved quarter from the Roses, the Ferns held that same narrow three-goal lead at the main change, 24-21.
The third quarter was where the tide changed though, with a heap of changes seeing young gun
Grace Nweke earn her official debut in the black strip, partnering with wing attack
Peta Toeava, while the Roses injected
Beth Cobden into the defensive end as Mentor returned in goal keeper and Williams remained on court. The experience of Mentor lining up against Nweke paid off in spades with the veteran goal keeper using every ounce of her international experience to control the contest. Most notably, the England goal keeper debuted for her nation (2001) before Nweke was even born (2002); something that Nweke seemed a fraction over-awed by. That being said, the 19-year-old was solid at the post, but the real issue in the front-end was an untimely injury to Metuarau, looking ginger on her leg after contesting a turnover ball. The goal attack stayed on court for the first five minutes of the half as the Roses took advantage of Metuarau’s limited movement, utilising their turnover opportunities as the battle between Winders and Malcolm continued to wage.
Maia Wilson took the court in the unfamiliar goal attack position with just under 10 minutes on the clock, as England drew level at 27-apiece. The ball then ping-ponged up and down the court with neither side able to control the ball in attack and seeing almost two minutes play out with no leader. Drakeford-Lewis broke the seal though as the Roses took their first lead of the game, with another three giving England some valuable breathing room. With the Roses midcourt pressure lifting and Mentor forced off with a blood nose again with 30 seconds on the clock until three quarter time, the side stepped up to charge in the final quarter with a 37-34 lead.
Karin Burger was injected into the action in the final quarter as
Shannon Saunders returned to the fray after starting in wing attack, pulling on the centre bib and looking to step up the intensity as Guscoth took the court in goal keeper for Mentor. The combination of Guscoth and Williams, while unconventional, appeared to do the trick as the Roses increased their pressure once more as the offensive work rate in the England goal circle kicked up a notch. Clarke and Malcolm’s work rate into Fisher was made all the more evident as the match went on, growing in confidence as their willingness to feed over the head of Burger paid off. Mentor returned to the fray with just over 10 minutes remaining, working in tandem with Williams to take the Ferns attack out of the comfort zone and both Wilson and Nweke crumbling under the pressure. Neither player wanted to play the goal attack role, making it hard for Toeava and Saunders to anticipate where to place the ball, seeing coach
Noeline Taurua ring in the changes with eight minutes remaining in the match – a chance that Roses coach
Jess Thirlby take advantage of a timeout of her own with five minutes on the clock. The Roses composure was evident as they weathered everything the Ferns threw at them and ran away with an impressive 10-goal win, sinking seven goals straight credit to the defensive pressure to finish the match 55-45.
Fisher earned Player of the Match honours for her work rate and accuracy out the front, shooting 45 goals from 47 attempts at 96 per cent accuracy and collecting two rebounds. Drakeford-Lewis was accurate and impactful with her nine goals at 100 per cent and 16 assists into Fisher, while Cardwell contributed one goal in her 15 minutes. Malcolm (22 assists from 35 feeds, 19 centre pass receives) and Clarke (two gains, 10 assists in 33 minutes) both controlled the ball well in the second half, while Mentor racked up six gains from her two intercepts, five deflections and one rebound, while Guscoth managed two intercepts in her 39 minutes, with the defensive combination far cleaner this time around, combining for 20 penalties while Williams contributed three. For the Ferns, it was a shared effort to post as Nweke led the tally with 16 goals from 20 attempts, while Selby-Rickit (15 from 18), Metuarau (nine from 10) and Wilson (five from seven) all contributed fairly well. The four goalers piled on 14 general play turnovers between them though, proving how immense England’s pressure was. Saunders topped the assists tally with 14, followed by Metuarau (10 ) and Kersten (nine), while Fitzpatrick and Jury combined for nine gains (four intercepts).
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NEW ZEALAND SILVER FERNS | 10 | 14 | 10 | 11 (45)
ENGLAND ROSES | 7 | 14 | 16 | 18 (55)
MATCH MVP: George Fisher (England Roses)
STARTING SEVENS:
