Constellation Cup series to be rescheduled
AUSTRALIAN netball fans will have to wait a little longer for international matches, with Netball Australia announcing today that the Constellation Cup between Australian Diamonds and New Zealand Silver Ferns will be rescheduled due to the current closure of the trans-Tasman travel bubble and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in both countries.
The Diamonds and Ferns were set to go head-to-head in October, with two tests planned to play in Queensland before both squads would travel to New Zealand for the third and final tests. Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand were working in tandem to determine new dates and locations for the series.
“There is a joint commitment between Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand to ensure the Constellation Cup goes ahead,” Ryan said. “We want our netball fans to be able to watch this sport’s greatest rivalry and this series forms a crucial part of the Diamonds preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.”
The Diamonds are also still set to play the England Roses, with rescheduling in progress between Netball Australia, England Netball and various federal and state governments to ensure the planned tests go ahead – initially planned to play in the lead-up to the Constellation Cup.
Victorian-based Diamonds will complete 14 days quarantine in Perth ahead of playing the Roses, in line with Western Australian government requirements, while the NSW-based players remained in Queensland following the Suncorp Super Netball season, with the full expected to assemble when dates and venues for the Roses series are confirmed.
In better news, Collingwood Magpies head coach Nicole Richardson has been awarded for her impressive achievements on and off the court, named Diamonds assistant coach for the upcoming series with head coach Stacey Marinkovich commending Richardson’s netball nous.
“We are delighted to have highly-regarded coach Nicole Richardson join the Diamonds for the upcoming series,” Marinkovich said. “Nicole brings a strong defensive skillset and a well-rounded approach to building high performance systems and structures.”
“We are looking forward to working with Nicole to create a highly competitive training environment, new layering to our game plan and attacking the upcoming matches.”
Picture credit: Netball Australia
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