The enlightened group of sports administrators who came up with the notion of building a world class indoor sports stadium in Tauranga, to one day host the likes of the Silver Ferns, had plenty of hurdles to overcome before their dream became a reality.
But any early teething problems andthe usual funding issues have been well and truly left behind as the outstanding TECT Arena recently celebrated its first year of highly successful operation.
Last night's international netball double header saw an animated full house of 3100 fans loving every second of Australia's 57-35 win over England and, in particular, the Silver Ferns' 57-35 victory over South Africa.
This was the 25th meeting between the Silver Ferns and South Africa, with the shock loss in the 1995 World Championships the only blip on a perfect record by the Kiwis. The closest margin between the teams since 1999 had been 30 goals and on form so far in the quad series, there was no indication another upset was about to happen.
From the moment the Silver Ferns intercepted the South Africans' first possession they never gave their lesser rated opponents a chance and had the luxury of trying relatively untried combinations in the second half.
The old firm of captain Casey Williams at goal defence and Laura Langman at centre dominated the early stages, and it was encouraging to see the renewed confidence and athleticism of 20-year-old wing defence Kayla
Cullen, after a tough baptism at this level in the earlier rounds.
The home side had nine goals before the South Africans opened their account. Their shooters let the side down though, with a poor 50 per cent success rate against the 86 per cent generated by Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia.
The quad series concludes on Thursday in Hamilton with an other much anticipated showdown between the game's heavyweights, the Silver Ferns and Diamonds.
