Netball: Ferns find feet after making a slow start

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New Zealand 58
South Africa 28

The Silver Ferns have advanced through to the semifinals of the world netball championships, but there were few smiles in the camp after last night's patchy quarter-final win over South Africa.

After a week of one-sided affairs, the New Zealand attack did not cope well early on with the increased defensive pressure they faced from the gutsy South Africans, and struggled to get into the match.

The large Kiwi contingent packed into the Singapore Indoor Stadium sat in stunned silence as New Zealand dropped their first quarter of the tournament, trailing South Africa 11-10 at the first break.

The Ferns slowly found their rhythm in the second quarter as the attack end cut down their error rate to take a 27-17 lead at halftime, but they still did not look comfortable.

That didn't stop Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken from ringing the changes at the break, removing the star bookends Casey Williams and Irene van Dyk and opting for an inexperienced line in the second half.

The youngsters did a good job of running the match, extending the Ferns lead at every break to take convincing - but not inspiring - 30-goal win.

The Ferns coaching staff will be concerned with quiet performances from two of their key stars - Maria Tutaia and Temepara George, who were two of the most expensive players on court in the first half, along with Liana Leota.

One of the few bright spots of the performance from New Zealand's point of view was the second-half defensive pairing of Katrina Grant and Leana de Bruin, playing in her 50th test for New Zealand. The pair were particularly instrumental in the win, restricting the Proteas to just nine goals in the second half.

Van Dyk admitted her side will need to take a huge step up against a very sharp England side.

"It was a bit of a slow start with us, we had a lot of unforced errors and we can't afford to do that [today]," said van Dyk.
"This was the perfect game to get us ready for the semis, because it made us have to think about how we would get out of those situations."

England had no such troubles in their quarter-final match-up, trouncing Northern Ireland 87-16 in a slick and confident display.

The English side, who have focussed on developing their fitness over the past six months, look a very dangerous semifinal opponent.

Last night's shaky performance from New Zealand will boost England's confidence, which coach Sue Hawkins said is soaring.

"We've got a different approach, we've got a different feel about this team and we're just quietly doing our job and doing it as efficiently as we can," she said.

Australia are expected to meet Jamaica in today's second semifinal, depending on the outcome of overnight matches.