WITH the World Cup officially over we take a look back at the event and analyse five of the biggest and most important things to have come out the competition.

1. Coaches should not be underestimated

It was a coaching masterclass from both Noeline Taurua and Norma Plummer the latter of which farewelled her international coaching career in style. Plummer’s South African side has come along in leaps and bounds credit to her hard-nosed approach, dedication and intricate knowledge and understanding of the game and while they did not claim a medal their performance on the big stage was one to be commended. On the other hand, Taurua pulled out all the stops to claim the unthinkable. She left many people in awe of her team’s performance credit to her tactical mindset and clever zone off the body defence system. Both coaches proved throughout the World Cup that they were not afraid to make big moves and enforce the changes when things were not working.

2. International netball is developing at a rapid rate

This World Cup proved that netball is developing at a rate of knots across the world with arguably one of the closest competitions in history. With five prominent nations the battle for top spot was on from the get go. But while the higher ranked teams all excelled the lower positioned countries stood up on the international stage relishing the exposure and staking their claim on the competition to push teams to their limits. This World Cup saw the highest number of African nations make the cut with four countries making it through such as Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa showcasing the overall development of netball across the globe.

3. Star players do not make a star team

Jamaica went into the World Cup with a glowing record and plenty of hype holding second place on the world rankings. Although the Sunshine Girls were littered with star players across the court they struggled to gel as a team. Jhaniele Fowler steered the ship in the goal circle with her strong holds, accuracy to post and high volume of shots while up the other end Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Shamera Sterling were the lynchpins in defence. But despite the plethora of big time players Jamaica made little impact on the higher ranked sides given their inability to transition the ball from one end of the court to the other.

4. Stage fright and expectation can take a toll

Both the reigning World Champions and Commonwealth gold medallists had huge expectations on their shoulders but in the end they were unable to live up to all the hype. England were bailed out in the semi-final stage going down to New Zealand by two goals after coming into the series as fan favourites given their huge upset win in the Commonwealth Games and home advantage. The Roses lost Layla Guscoth early in the World Cup with injury but were still pinned as the team to beat given their class and experience across the court. The same could be said for the Australian Diamonds who once again fell agonisingly short in the gold medal match. with the stakes so high and both teams having such big expectations both nations struggled to make the most of their opportunities and live up to the anticipation of fans.

5. Netball is more than just a game

There was passion aplenty throughout the World Cup with many of the nations putting on a spectacle both on and off the court. Zimbabwe oozed charisma, excitement and passion meeting each game with fun and intensity. Their happy go lucky attitude made them near on impossible to stop when on song while Malawi down on star power compared to previous years did not lack their heart and energy on the court.