By JENNI RUTHERFORD in London
The Silver Ferns arrive home from a brief tour of Britain this morning with the foundation laid but the cement yet to set on their world championship campaign.
New Zealand's 64-45 win over England in the third test in London meant the Silver Ferns left with their
unbeaten record on English soil intact. They had won the second test by 21 goals in Birmingham and won the first test in Manchester 52-36.
It was far from one-way traffic for them on Saturday, as they led by just five goals going into the final quarter and were forced to open their box of tricks to finish with a deceptively comfortable scoreline.
"We made them look good," Silver Ferns captain Anna Rowberry said.
"Those first two quarters were really scrappy and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that we started to make it easy for ourselves. When we did, it was so easy.
"We didn't get a flow through court out on attack and it has shown that touring in February is hard for us, because we don't hit our straps until halfway through the National Bank Cup.
"It really shows that touring at this time of year, you are never at your sharpest."
The England coach, former New Zealand captain and coach Lyn Gunson, said the tour and especially the final test was invaluable experience for her side ahead of the world championships in Jamaica in July.
"New Zealand ... had to play really well to win the series," Gunson said.
"We forced them to play at their best and it forced New Zealand to release pressure behaviours which teaches our players what it takes to win games at that level and under those conditions."
- NZPA
