England lost 61-56 to New Zealand in the Taini Jamison Trophy final, but the Vitality Roses won the Test series 2-1.
Jess Thirlby’s side were looking to secure a clean sweep against New Zealand, but the Silver Ferns produced their best performance of the series to secure a consolation win at Invercargill’s home stadium.
England have been touring the southern hemisphere for the past four weeks, losing 2-1 to world champions Australia but rallied from three Tests to beat world number two New Zealand.
“To come here and win the series in the first two Tests is very special for us. That’s what we wanted to achieve.” England captain Fran Williams said:
“I’m very proud of how the girls have managed themselves during the long tour for us and turned up in every Test match. I’m proud of the way we performed during the series.”
The game was relatively even from the start, but New Zealand recorded its best quarter of the series, taking an 18-16 lead after 15 minutes, with goalshooter Grace Neweke taking the lead.
Neweke continued New Zealand’s chances to put the home side up 32-28 at half-time. Kelly Jackson was outstanding defensively for New Zealand, turning the ball over several times at crucial moments.
England came back to within one goal at 47-46 after three quarters, but the crowd cheered as New Zealand entered the final quarter and the Silver Ferns quickly took a 56-48 lead.
The Vitality Roses came back to within four goals of New Zealand but ended up losing.
England won the Taini Jamison Trophy for the second time.
“I was disappointed not to win tonight. Credit to the Silver Ferns, they came out and had a good game plan to beat us,” Williams said.
“But I think we can still take a lot. We say we want to win and we say we attack every game to win and I think we did that in this series.
“We’ve achieved this through some new combinations and partnerships. It’s a really exciting place for England Netball at the moment and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”
Vitality Roses Tour Results Down Under
September 19th – Australia 70-57 UK – Report | Highlights | repeat all
September 22nd – Australia 59-61 England – Report | Highlights | repeat all
September 25th – Australia 69-56 UK – report | highlights | repeat all
September 29th – New Zealand 58-59 England – Report | Highlights | repeat all
October 2nd – New Zealand 55-59 England – report | highlights | repeat all
October 6th – New Zealand 61-56 England – repeat all
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