Netball: Super fit England challenge for Ferns

Joline Henry says England seem to get more competitive with every season. Photo / Getty Images

The Silver Ferns concede they are lagging behind the English in terms of match fitness heading in to their three-test series beginning in Manchester tomorrow.

Having touched down in England only on Wednesday, the Ferns will have just a handful of training sessions before they take the court.

They did manage to squeeze in a valuable practice match against English Superleague side Northern Thunder on Thursday, but coach Ruth Aitken admits her side will still be underdone.

In contrast, the full-strength England squad are physically primed as their domestic Superleague starts next week.

"I certainly don't think we'll be quite a 60-minute team on [Sunday], so England will have an edge in that their pre-season for their Superleague is obviously a lot more full-on than ours have been at the moment."

Typically at this time of year Aitken would be flogging her players in pre-season camps, where the emphasis is on strength and conditioning and setting the tone for the coming season rather than match play.

So the team have found it a bit of a struggle to get their minds and bodies straight in to test mode.

"It is challenging, there's no doubt about it, but it's coming ready or not, so we've just got to get on with it really," said Aitken.

"They're certainly training very well, and are getting engaged in what's what. But messages from home about going out fishing and getting sunburned doesn't really help things," she joked.

Despite the unusual timing of the series, Aitken believes the tests in Manchester, Nottingham (Tuesday) and London (Thursday) will be extremely worthwhile and a key part of their build-up to the world championships in July.

After the tour she won't have access to her players until the end of the transtasman league, which begins next month and runs to late May.

"We felt it was important that we didn't go from the Commonwealth Games in October last year to June when we regroup after the ANZ Championships," said Aitken.

"So this series allows us to regroup and make sure the players are all on the same page going into the ANZ Championships and where they want to be when they come out."

With an experienced line-up that boasts one of the best defensive combinations in the world in Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma, England have proved a tricky proposition for the Ferns in recent seasons - particularly at home.

The Ferns were taken to overtime in their last tour to England in 2009, and lost a one-off test in their disastrous tour of 2007.

New Zealand defender Joline Henry said England seemed to get more competitive with every season.

"England as a team have been getting progressively better over the last few years. So I think for us we are confident, but very, very wary of the skills and the base that they've been building."

Despite their growing competitiveness, England would have been disappointed with their performance at the Commonwealth Games and Henry expects that they will see the series against the Ferns as an opportunity to get some pride back.

Much of England's 2010 campaign was in disarray, with a dispute over Mentor and Mkoloma's availability for this year's world championships clearly having a negative impact on team morale. They also missed the guidance of wily coach Sue Hawkins, who could not attend the Commonwealth Games as she was caring for her ill partner, who has since died.

Aitken expects England to be much more settled for this series.

"I think having Sue back will have a big impact as well. Especially as she is a specialist shooting coach. I think their shooting last year dropped off a bit and she will have addressed that."

Silver Ferns v England

*1st test - Manchester
*Tomorrow, 5.45am
*Live on Sky