New Zealand bounce back from their surprising first-Test defeat to England in the Taini Jamison Trophy series with a comfortable win over the Vitality Roses; watch the deciding Test between New Zealand and England this Saturday on Sky Sports Mix and YouTube from 7.10am
Last Updated: 27/09/23 9:31am
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Former Red Roses player Chelsea Pitman has announced her retirement from international netball, and says she is looking to prioritise pregnancy issues after hoping to create a ‘safe space’ for other women with similar struggles.
Former Red Roses player Chelsea Pitman has announced her retirement from international netball, and says she is looking to prioritise pregnancy issues after hoping to create a ‘safe space’ for other women with similar struggles.
New Zealand took a dominant 57-36 over England in Porirua to level the Taini Jamison Trophy and send the series to a decider.
The Silver Ferns led the match from start to finish and were clearly motivated by their narrow 55-54 loss on Sunday in the opening Test of the series.
England, who have sent none of their World Cup players to the series in New Zealand, will be underdogs to win the deciding match this Saturday – live on Sky Sports Mix from 7.10am.
“A ton of relief. I’m really proud of everybody tonight. It was time of us to show a bit of heart and what’s really in our belly,” said New Zealand captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
“There were still some lapses in our game, so we are not perfect yet. We will go away and look at that and try and be better again on Saturday. We know they will come back.”
England skipper Sophie Drakeford-Lewis added: “We knew the Ferns would come out hard at the start of the first Test and we didn’t really respond to that. That’s something we need to look at for the third Test.
“We didn’t come out strong enough. We need to stick to our structures more, we fall away from that more often than not. There was some really good stuff in there but it wasn’t consistent for us against a quality side. A lot to learn from that Test match and we look forward to Saturday.”
New Zealand beat England in the second test of the Taini Jamison Trophy
How New Zealand beat England
New Zealand started off the match brilliantly as they raced into a 10-3 lead with Ekenasio starring up front as England looked out of sorts in every area of the court.
The Silver Ferns pushed to a 17-7 lead as Sasha Glasgow’s penalty got England back within 10 at the end of the first quarter.
England coach Liana Leota made a key change by replacing goal attack and captain Drakeford-Lewis with Berri Neil, but it didn’t stop New Zealand from increasing their lead to 12.
However, the substitutes, including Neil and Ellie Rattu, began to make big a impact, with the former scoring 13 goals in the second quarter to ignite a Vitality Roses comeback as they trailed New Zealand 27-23 at half-time.
New Zealand used the interval to compose themselves and refound their faster game to create more turnovers as they stretched their lead to 33-25, partly thanks to goal shooter debutant Amelia Walmsley.
Phoenix Karaka was particularly strong in the second half with three intercepts, four rebounds and nine gains across the match, with momentum now firmly with the home side, who took a 39-30 lead into the final quarter.
England were unable to match the intensity of their opponents, who grew stronger as they dwindled. It was one-way traffic as New Zealand went on to win by 21 goals.
Watch the deciding Test between England and New Zealand on this Saturday at 7.10am, live on Sky Sports Mix and YouTube. You can re-watch the second match here.