By JULIE ASH
Today's quarter-final against Samoa has special significance for Silver Fern goal defence Sheryl Clarke.
Clarke led Samoa in the 1999 world championship in Christchurch, when they finished ninth.
"It is exciting coming up against them," she said. "They know how we play and we know how they
play, so it is not going to be easy."
Coached by former Silver Fern Rita Fatialofa, the Samoan side include New Zealand-based players Linda Vagana, Rachel Rasmussen, Nicolette Ropati, Frances Solia, Malu Fasavalu and Ana Tai Senio.
In their seven matches at the tournament, Samoa have beaten Antigua 50-46, Sri Lanka 61-33, Trinidad and Tobago 50-35 and the United States 52-45, and have lost to South Africa 57-41, Australia 76-27 and Jamaica 84-24.
"Their strength is definitely in their defence with that big bird Linda Vagana back there," Clarke said. ' "But they have also got Rachel Rasmussen on defence and she played some really good games during the national league."
It is the Silver Ferns' final hitout as they look ahead to the semifinal.
"It is great that we finished our pool unbeaten and we are looking forward to taking another step up," Clarke said. "We know the tougher matches are coming, but it is just a matter of focusing on one game at a time."
Although Samoa are not expected to cause the New Zealanders any problems, Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken may be tempted to use her strongest lineup to ensure they are firing on all cylinders in preparation for tomorrow's semifinal, expected to be against Jamaica.
Although they won their last match against Fiji 79-42, New Zealand's performance was a little indifferent.
"I thought the game was mucky and I thought defensively in the first half of that game we did some great stuff . But I believe we got too loose on attack and we need to be more clinical," Aitken said.
"A lot of it is just a mental attitude. It was difficult coming off a hard game [ England], then picking yourself up in a lesser game."
In today's other quarter-finals, Australia face Barbados, South Africa meet England and Jamaica tackle Fiji.
* TV details: Quarter-finals, 11.30am, highlights, 10.30pm. Semifinals, 11.45am tomorrow, highlights 10.30pm.
