It was not the winning start she was after but still a proud moment for Kimiora Poi and her whanau when she made her Silver Ferns test debut in a 54-41 loss to England in Liverpool yesterday.
The 21-year-old Canterbury Tactix midcourter is pictured at Liverpool’s Echo Arena with father
Billy, of Gisborne/East Coast, who played interprovincial rugby for East Coast, Manawatu and Thames Valley, and mother Roanne, a former Manawatu and New Zealand Universities netball representative.
Poi came on at centre in the second quarter and also played the third quarter in the opening game of the Netball Quad Series involving New Zealand, England, Australia and South Africa.
She did not look out of place in a game ultimately decided in the third quarter, which England won 15-6.
The Ferns’ revival in the final quarter was curtailed by a two-minute sinbinning of Ferns defender Karin Burger for deliberate obstruction in the final quarter, having been warned minutes earlier. The Ferns next game is against Australia at London’s Copper Box Arena on January 20.
