THE England Roses have turned things around from losing test two to defeat South Africa 53-50 in the final test of their series to take the series.

England played much better than it did the day before despite the tight final score line, but South Africa certainly had chances to win but unforced errors proved its undoing.

The defences were both strong again early, as Fran Williams and Karla Pretorius in particular were dangerous in going for the turnover ball and were making life particularly difficult for their opponent’s shooters.

England was the first to break an opposition centre pass, but it was not until the final few minutes of the quarter that the Roses were able to actually create a decently sized lead.

The Roses went on a solid lead building run towards the back end of the first term, and as such took a five-goal lead into the first change.

Early in the second term, England continued from where it left off in the first, with the defence particularly strong still. The defenders were really capitalising on the defensive and unforced errors the South Africans were making, and Eleanor Cardwell and Sasha Glasgow were converting up the other end.

The English lead got out to as much as six goals before the SPAR Proteas steadied.

However, momentum swung several times in the back end of the quarter, so as things sat at half time, the margin was back our to four goals.

Both teams made changes at half time but the status quo remained the same. However, as the quarter progressed South Africa showed it was not going to go down without a fight, and got back within a goal of the hosts.

One thing that did remain consistent was the strength of the defensive aspects of the game, not just from the defenders themselves. Everyone was alert to potential turnover situations, and many capitalised on them.

The shooters were also really making the most of their opportunities, with Cardwell and Rolene Struetker in particularly consistently shooting at a high accuracy.

The third quarter ultimately ended up being a draw, so as such the margin at the final change remained four points.

As much as South Africa was keeping touch with England, the SPAR Proteas were their own worst enemy at times as poor passing in the attacking third proving really costly.

Funmi Fadoju was particularly influential in the last quarter, with her strong intercept game becoming more noticeable and influential in the last 15 minutes.

South Africa fought back hard in the back half of the quarter, but unforced errors continued to be the Achilles’ Heel of the visitors.

It ultimately proved its undoing as it was unable to fully claw back the deficit.

ENGLAND                         16 | 13 | 13 | 11 (53)
SOUTH AFRICA                 11 | 14 | 13 | 12 (50)

STARTING SEVENS

England

GS: Eleanor Cardwell
GA: Sasha Glasgow
WA: Hannah Jospeh
C: Amy Carter
WD: Imogen Allison
GD: Funmi Fadoju
GK: Fran Wiliams

South Africa

GS: Rolene Streutker
GA: Kamogelo Maseko
WA: Khanyisa Chawane
C: Refiloe Nketsa
WD: Jeante Strydom
GD: Karla Pretorius
GK: Phumza Maweni