Netball: Ferns annihilate academy side

11.30pm

QUEENSFERRY - The Silver Ferns shook off any lingering jet lag as they opened their tour of Britain with a clinical demolition of the Welsh Institute of Sport Academy side.

New Zealand won 155-17 in what was a training match contested over five 15-minute and one 10-minute periods of play.

For most of the game the Silver Ferns were forced to push themselves, as the opposition failed to do so, and coach Ruth Aitken rang the changes to give each of her players a solid workout.

"I was pleased the machine kept going each quarter and that, for me, was really heartening," Aitken said. "I was pleased about the level of intensity out there."

Despite not being an official competition match, the Silver Ferns' lopsided victory and superior skills once more exposed the gaping chasm between the two sides.

The majority of the Welsh national side, who finished sixth at the Manchester Commonwealth Games last year, were in the squad of 15 that took the court yesterday.

Despite shooting at least 20 goals per spell and 36 in the fifth spell, New Zealand were not without fault.

'It's good to have a good blowout and there were some good clinical skills shown. But there were some lapses here and there," said captain Anna Rowberry.

"It was a bit unstructured at times and we probably got a bit complacent. In each quarter break we could improve - we could be crisper, we could be sharper." The new defensive duo of Leana du Plooy and Anna Scarlett, redundant for the bulk of the match, received warm praise from their coach.

"They are all arms and legs but they actually did a lot of good work."

Du Plooy started at goal keep for the first two quarters before being substituted by Vilimaina Davu. Scarlett took over from Sheryl Clarke at goal defence in the third spell though both du Plooy and the Otago teen were paired for the final spell.

Designed to test combinations and fitness before New Zealand's three test-series against England next week, Aitken mixed and matched her team of 12 after the second quarter.

She moved utilities Adine Harper and Belinda Colling from shooting responsibilities into the midcourt well into the match, while Victoria Edward finished her night at centre when Rowberry and Jenny May Coffin, who had been sharing the centre position, were benched.

Goal shoot Irene van Dyk was unstoppable during her 60 minutes on court, shooting 74 from 76 attempts. Colling finished the night with 34 from 36 attempts and Angela Mitchell returned 36 from 45. Adine Harper, taking on the goal attack position this year for the Silver Ferns, scored just 11 goals from 17.

The team travel to Manchester for their second warm-up match against the England Development side tomorrow before their first test on Tuesday against England.

- NZPA