Netball: Past disaster provides perfect focus

By Richard Boock

The nightmare that was Birmingham four years ago has been playing its part in the Silver Ferns' World Netball Championship build-up.

Less than a fortnight out from the first game of the 1999 championships in Christchurch, the New Zealand netballers have been embracing the ghost of the failed '95 campaign, rather than shooing it out of their preparations.

The staggering, upset loss to South Africa - which propelled the Ferns into a far tougher semifinal against eventual title-winners Australia - is a first-hand memory for five of the 12-strong squad, and has figured prominently in the countdown to this year's championships.

New Zealand begin their campaign against Canada after the opening ceremony on Wednesday week, and will need to adjust quickly to the rarefied atmosphere of a world championship tournament, according to mid-courter Julie Seymour.

Seymour, part of the 1995 squad, said that even for otherwise-seasoned players there was something different about a WNC tournament, a factor which had been discussed during the Ferns' countdown over the past month.

"The memory of Birmingham - even it is a pretty painful one - has been really helpful," she said from Wellington yesterday. "We've discussed it as a group because I think some of us didn't really appreciate how big a deal the whole thing was last time.

"It's important we remember, and draw everything we can from that experience. We don't want to forget; it's added that little bit of hunger."

Even so, the experienced New Zealand centre conceded that whenever one tried to win there was also a chance they would lose, and said every sportsperson had to deal with the risk of failure.

"In a deep, dark place at the back of your mind there is the fear of failure - fear of the same thing happening again - but it serves no use and isn't worth dwelling on. There's no benefit in going there; it's far better to take what positives we can from Birmingham, be confident, and focus on the things within our control."

Another of the quintet from Birmingham - defender Belinda Charteris - said there were clear lessons from 1995 which the 1999 squad needed to appreciate.

Charteris who, with Seymour, Bernice Mene, Lesley Nicol and Anna Rowberry will play in her second WNC tournament in Christchurch, said yesterday her perception of what went wrong in Birmingham had changed as the years had passed.

"Frankly, I think we were looking too far ahead," she said.

"We were paying too much attention to Australia and how to get on top of them, and then slipped up against South Africa. We needed to focus more on ourselves and the next game. That's what we've been talking about in camp."

One of the casualties during the fallout from the Birmingham bid, Charteris lost her place in the test squad for a year but fought back to reclaim her place in 1997 and has been an automatic choice since.

Despite reports of many retirements looming in the Australian test side after the tournament, Charteris said she was undecided about her netball future but wouldn't rule out continuing to play afterwards, or even a shot at the 2003 tournament.

She was certain however, that the Silver Ferns had no divine right to this year's title, even though many people believed the combination of the 1995 disappointment, the home-court advantage and an ageing Australian squad gave New Zealand a slight favouritism.

"It's not our turn - we can't afford to think like that," Charteris said.

"We've prepared as well as we could have; there's nothing else we can do in terms of our build-up, but everything's still in front of us.

"We just have to remember to take it one game at a time."