Netball: Misfiring Ferns still win

By Richard Boock

CHRISTCHURCH - New Zealand's resolute defence could not hide the problems appearing on attack during last night's 68-39 win over South Africa at the World Netball Championships.

There was little threat of a repeat of the 1995 Birmingham upset for the Silver Ferns but there were still plenty of concerns after another 60 minutes in which the attack end continually misfired.

"We got a bit stuck around the circle, and I'm not sure exactly why," captain Belinda Colling said afterwards. "It was just a harder test I guess, a far tougher opponent. We had better structure against the Cooks, we certainly got cleaner ball into the circle."

New Zealand blundered their way to a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, scratched out a 14-11 advantage through the second period for a 31-18 half-time lead, and though coach Yvonne Willering resisted the temptation to make changes, things improved only slightly as the game wore on.

Colling (who shot 75 per cent) and goal-shoot Donna Loffhagen (76 per cent) struggled to break free of their markers, with the New Zealand captain in particular having another average shooting day.

That there were no fears of a copycat upset this time around had much to do with another superb defensive effort from New Zealand.

Bernice Mene, Belinda Charteris and Lesley Nicol maintained suffocating pressure on the South African attack end, with the effect so pronounced during the first quarter that goal-attack Rosina Magola was forced to swap with usual shoot, Irene Van Dyk.

The Ferns looked their best working the ball out of defence but were continually frustrated through the attacking third.

Australia, meanwhile, put memories of Saturday's 47-42 near-miss against Jamaica behind them and inflicted the first loss of the tournament on England, 58-44 last night.

Australia and New Zealand are the only unbeaten teams in the championship race after the Ferns accounted for a purposeful Cook Islands side 74-43 on Saturday, the win again built on an excellent defensive effort from Mene, Vagana and Charteris.

Though another sound win, the game only highlighted the problems in and around the New Zealand circle, with Colling shooting roughly in the first and final quarters, leading to Willering resting her at the first-quarter break, and using Loffhagen and Tairi instead.

New Zealand led 20-9 at the first-quarter mark, but outscored the Cooks by just one goal in the second quarter and went to half-time with a modest 35-23 lead. Willering reacted immediately, putting Mene and Charteris back in the game, and New Zealand eased away again, taking the third quarter 16-9 and the last period 23-11.

The Cooks bounced back yesterday to beat Trinidad and Tobago 65-52, while Fiji, Barbados and Canada joined Australia and New Zealand with a brace of wins from the weekend.

Samoa, like South Africa, England, Singapore and Jamaica, had a win and a loss, with Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago, Northern Ireland and the United States suffering consecutive defeats.

Day 7 (Main Draw)

Cook Islands v Canada, 8.45 am, Jamaica v Samoa, 10.30 am, Trinidad and Tobago v Barbados,12.15 pm, Australia v Fiji, 2 pm, New Zealand v Northern Ireland, 3.45 pm, England v Singapore, 5.30 pm, South Africa v Wales, 7.30 pm