KEY POINTS:
Jeff Wilson anxiously wanders through the crowd, Malcolm Scanlan hides in the corner of the stadium and prays. Quinton de Bruin looks after everyone else's mother and children.
These are the traits of the BHAPS - the boyfriends, husbands and partners of the Silver Ferns - who have
made their own sacrifices to support the team in their defence of the world netball title. They are a wider group than the WAGS - wives and girlfriends of English soccer players.
While Mr de Bruin may have lost his wife, Ferns defender Leana, to this tournament, he's gained a larger netball family in her absence.
He's opened the doors of their Whangaparaoa home to Leana's mother, niece and nephew, who have come from South Africa for the world championships, and to Irene van Dyk's mother and Irene's daughter, Bianca.
"This is Hotel de Bruin, and it's full," he quipped.
Irene's husband Christie has been commuting between Wellington and Auckland this week with his commitments as a cricket coach.
The de Bruins work as partners in real estate, so Quinton has been carrying their workload for the past few weeks. "You get a little stressed but it's a case of being there when things go well or don't go so well," he said.
For Malcolm Scanlan, husband of goal defence Sheryl, it's a matter of keeping their 17-month-old son Jafeth from missing his mother.
"We sit in the stand behind the girls and he just wants to cuddle Mum," Mr Scanlan said. "Then he points at the ball and wants to play with that."
Mr Scanlan has changed his working hours this week, starting at dawn with the Automobile Association, so he can get to every Silver Ferns game.
"I love it, but sometimes I like to hide in the corner and pray. Sheryl always asks me for feedback so today I've told her, 'This is it. Whatever you have left, throw it in there'."
The BHAPS don't meet often, but gathered in Queenstown six weeks ago for the start of the intensive training camps.
"We had a bit of fun, but not too much. We have to be the responsible half," Mr de Bruin said. "We don't get together as much as we'd like to. But we all have a common bond - we know what everyone has been up for in the last few years, especially the last few months."
The men sit in a block of seats behind the goalpost, but some like Jeff Wilson - husband of captain Adine - can't sit still for long.
The former All Black and Black Cap gets "terribly nervous" watching sport and needs to walk around Trusts Stadium on his own, while still training his eyes on the court.
Wilson, a keen horseman, struck a deal with his wife - spending the first part of the week in Christchurch for racing's Cup Week but arriving in Auckland for the Ferns' quarter-final thrashing of South Africa on Thursday night.
