IT was a big Monday night of netball in Christchurch, New Zealand, as the New Zealand Silver Ferns and England Roses went head to head in the first of three tests in the Cadbury Netball Series. While the Roses were right in it throughout patches, it was the Ferns on home soil that took out the first match 48-42, and will be looking to extend that lead in the second and third tests to lay hands on the Taini Jamison Trophy. It was a shaky start from both teams in the opening five minutes, with New Zealand converting off England’s starting centre but otherwise not really dominating the contest. Neither side appeared to really be in control, and took a bit of time to warm into the level of intensity. Tiana Metuarau earned her debut and the Ferns starting goal attack bib, and did not disappoint as she led the charge in the New Zealand front-end. Her cool, calm and composed demeanour settled the attack despite the likes of Layla Guscoth and Geva Mentor being out hunting early, with Mentor’s influence in particular getting in the head of key Ferns goal shooter Maia Wilson who had the yips early on. Ellie Cardwell started in goal shooter at the other end and did not seem fazed by the contest, using her strength to position herself in range and fire from anywhere within the goal circle, seeming to have the upper hand over Kelly Jury in the opener as Laura Malcolm and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis fired in well-placed lobs over the goal keeper. Both sides flirted with the three seconds as they adjusted to the international pressure, and while neither side could really take control throughout the opening quarter it was the Ferns that held a slim one-goal lead at the first break. The second quarter saw the game change, with New Zealand upping the intensity slightly and playing their own game, dictating play with their defensive press and cleanliness. It was a hot quarter from Wilson who stepped up individually to deny Mentor chances at turnovers, while Metuarau and Gina Crampton starred with their ability to spot space and drive into it. The Roses just could not take control on their own centre pass, with the Ferns defence in Maddy Gordon and Karin Burger blockading the transverse line and forcing Serena Guthrie to track backwards at the centre, with the Roses captain firing up and finding herself with plenty of whistle in the process. While the quarter started off relatively evenly, with the combination between Malcolm and Cardwell continuing to shine, Gordon’s influence nullified Malcolm’s timing and ability to drive, seeing some missed connections as Cardwell worked hard to find her positioning but to no avail with the ball not being fed in. Burger did not seem influential on the stats sheet, but worked hard away from the action to block every move that Drakeford-Lewis made. With five minutes remaining in the quarter and a seven-goal buffer, the change was made in the Roses attack with George Fisher coming into goal shooter, Cardwell rotating out to goal attack and Drakeford-Lewis heading to the bench, just as Jury came alive down back. England seemed very flat until the last minute, when they seemed to find a second wind as Guthrie turned over a Ferns centre pass and Malcolm intercepted an errant pass into the centre third, seeing the Roses finish off the half with a five-goal deficit. The Ferns lineup saw its first changes of the match as the second half rolled around, with Burger heading to the bench as Sulu Fitzpatrick took the goal keeper bib and Jury moved into goal defence, while Claire Kersten took the court in centre, replacing Sam Winders. For the Roses, the change was made in wing defence as livewire Imogen Allison injected herself into the game, with a much more confident start from the Roses and plenty of confidence feeding the ball into Fisher. While the Roses seemed to take back some of the momentum, the Ferns continued to chip away at the scoreboard with patience paying off under pressure. The injection of Allison seemed to do the trick with the wing defence tracking Crampton well and not allowing the wing attack to impact as easily around circle edge. The changes continued to come with Winders returning to replace Gordon in wing defence, while Jade Clarke took the court with three minutes remaining in the quarter using her fresh feet to assist Malcolm on the feeding front. While the Roses edged closer and led the quarter, a couple of miscommunications saw the Ferns turn over the ball, unable to bite into a continual three-goal margin. A Metuarau goal on the siren saw the Ferns lead by four at the final break, with the close contest set to continue. The final quarter was highly defensive, with the circle units of both nations starring across the court. Burger returned to the fray in goal defence to no avail at the beginning of the quarter, as the Roses closed the margin to 38 goals apiece in the first five minutes but it was a bit too early as the Ferns worked their way through the offensive pressure to control the contest once more. Burger and Fitzpatrick fired up on cue, combining seamlessly down back to wreak havoc and finding another gear. While the Ferns seemed a little bit stagnant in attack once more, the patience and leadership from Crampton paid off every time as Metuarau and Wilson continued to control the goal circle. The timely injection of Shannon Saunders into wing attack proved to be the real kicker, as the Ferns found a last gasp of energy to ride out the storm. While the Roses created no shortage of turnovers, messiness saw them waste their limited opportunities as the Ferns ran away in the last five minutes, adding six goals to two to finish up the match with a six-goal buffer, 48-42. Metuarau was name player of the match for her stunning debut performance, piling on 17 goals from 19 attempts at 89 per cent to go with her 10 goal assists and one intercept. Wilson (31 from 39) was solid as ever and appeared to grow in confidence throughout the contest, while Crampton tallied 16 goal assists from 22 feeds to lead all-comers. Burger registered four gains (three intercepts, six deflections) in her 45 minutes on court, while Jury registered three gains from her seven deflections and one rebound and Fitzpatrick managed two intercepts in her 30 minutes of court time. For the Roses, Malcolm racked up 21 goal assists from 30 feeds and an intercept, while Fisher led the charge inside the circle, putting up 22 goals from 23 attempts at 96 per cent, as Cardwell added 16 from 22 and Drakeford-Lewis contributed four at 100 per cent. Guscoth piled on four intercepts as Guthrie registered two and Allison one. While the overall accuracy to post from both teams was relatively similar, the real difference was in the penalty count with the Roses almost doubling the Ferns (61-32) with Guscoth and Mentor combining for 30 penalties alone and showing a real point to improve on in the upcoming tests. – NEW ZEALAND SILVER FERNS | 12 | 14 | 11 | 11 (48) ENGLAND ROSES | 11 | 10 | 12 | 9 (42) MATCH MVP: Tiana Metuarau (NZ Silver Ferns) STARTING SEVENS:

Silver Ferns GS: Maia Wilson GA: Tiana Metuarau WA: Gina Crampton C: Sam Winders WD: Maddy Gordon GD: Karin Burger GK: Kelly Jury

Roses GS: Ellie Cardwell GA: Sophie Drakeford-Lewis WA: Laura Malcolm C: Serena Guthrie WD: Beth Cobden GD: Layla Guscoth GK: Geva Mentor

Picture credit: Sky Sports