Accuracy Under Fire

The Silver Ferns have won the inaugural six-nation Fastnet World Series against Jamaica in Manchester 32–27. The world number-two seed beat off stiff competition from an ever-improving Jamaican side to take the trophy at the MEN Arena. Coach Ruth Aitken lauded her team’s ability to adapt to the new rules after her team lost round-robin matches to England and Australia to qualify third for the semifinals. “We were certainly slow starters in the tournament but probably in the end it’s not how you start but how you finish that makes the difference,” Aitken said. “A big difference was our confidence in each other and therefore a bit more accuracy in our passing,” she said. “Earlier in the week we were turning over a bit too much ball, but yoday there was some real quality netball.” The Silver Ferns went on to beat England in a one-off test 65–59 in extra time at Bath University.