Silver Ferns arrive in Napier for sold-out match against Proteas

The Silver Ferns arrive in Napier on Monday. Photo / NZME

The Silver Ferns and the South African netball teams have arrived in Napier - on the same plane - ahead of their sold-out fixture.

The two nations will play on Wednesday at Napier’s Pettigrew Green Arena at 7.40pm in the second of their three-match series.

It is the Silver Fern’s first international match in Hawke’s Bay since 2017.

Tickets to the game sold out in hours when they went on sale in June; nearly 2500 spectators are expected.

The Silver Ferns won the first match of the Taini Jamison Trophy series on Sunday, 77-51 in Auckland, and flew into Napier on Monday afternoon on the same Air NZ flight as their opponents.

They will be eager to wrap up the series against the Proteas with a game to spare.

The match will also mark a special occasion for Silver Fern Kimiora Poi, a former Napier Girls’ High student.

Grace Nweke in action during the first Taini Jamison Trophy test against South Africa on Sunday. Photo / Photosport

It is the first time the Silver Ferns have played in Hawke’s Bay since their 46-49 loss to the English Roses in September 2017 in that year’s Taini Jamison Trophy series. The Ferns went on to win that series two games to one.

Interim Silver Ferns coach Yvette McCausland-Durie has replaced Dame Noeline Taurua for the current series, after the latter was surprisingly stood down.

That decision reportedly related to Taurua’s leadership style and stemmed from issues which arose during a training camp in Sydney earlier this year.

Taurua has since received public backing from the likes of Silver Fern great Laura Langman.

After the win on Sunday, McCausland-Durie said she was really proud of her team.

“They’ve been under a lot of pressure and everybody wanted to own their role and take responsibility for their performance,” she told Sky Sports.

The final game of the series will be held in Invercargill on Sunday, before the Silver Ferns take on old foe Australia in a four-game series in October.