England reached the Netball World Cup final for the first time after holding off defending champions New Zealand 46-40 in a thrilling semi-final on Saturday.
Jess Thirlby’s team went toe-to-toe with the Silver Ferns in an unrelenting contest, until a final defensive surge engineered by Fran Williams and Imogen Allison propelled England to a euphoric victory at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The heart-stopping victory, which left Roses players in tears of ecstasy, means England are guaranteed at least a silver medal from their efforts in South Africa – a performance that matches their best from 1975 when the tournament was held in a round-robin format.
“I’m a little bit overwhelmed with what the team have just been able to do,” Thirlby said afterwards. “I thought New Zealand were excellent. They did what we expected and maybe we struggled at times to really overcome that. But mentally we stayed with it.
“I think to end the game of that nature, with a run of six just goes to tell you that you just have to stay in the game, and it opened up in attack, the defence got what they needed when we needed it most and that’s really satisfying.”
England will now face the world No 1 side, Australia, in thefinal after they defeated Jamaica 57-54 in another nail-biting semi-final. Like the Roses, the Diamonds clinched the game in the final quarter.
Speaking on the possibility of facing Australia, who England have already beaten once in the tournament during the group stages, Thirlby said: “We kind of left the Australia game thinking we could have done a bit better, so I think that’s a nice place to have left that match. So if it is that then so be it.”
The Roses went into their tie with New Zealand flying high with a perfect record and Thirlby kept faith with the sublime starting seven that etched their names in history with a group-stage victory over the Diamonds.
A nervous opening quarter riddled with errors meant both sides were forced to feel their way into the game early on, mistakes that clearly indicated the pressure of the occasion. Neither side seemed prepared to pounce as the match ticked over goal-for-goal.
A converted intercept by New Zealand’s Karin Burger eventually broke the deadlock, and when a searching feed from Laura Malcolm into Eleanor Cardwell blasted off the backline, the Ferns looked like seizing control. But the rallying cries of Layla Guscoth inspired a fightback for England as they found the ball they needed to tie 9-9 at the break.
The Roses emerged as the punchier of the two sides at the start of the second quarter. An intercept by centre Allison handed England the advantage, which they dutifully held on to until the final moments of the first half. With the final minute ticking down, England coughed up possession, allowing the Ferns to pull level again.
The exhausting, unrelenting defensive pressure from both teams continued into the second half. No pass went uncontested as they traded blows for the majority of the third quarter until goal keeper Kelly Jury’s long arms helped put New Zealand ahead.
England veteran Jade Clarke responded by pilfering a turnover of her own with under 20 seconds to go, and clutch shooter Helen Housby did not hesitate to sink the ball from near the circle edge to leave things on a knife edge at 32-32 going into the final quarter.
The compelling contest reached its crescendo in the last four minutes when the ebb and flow of the game was finally brought to a halt by Williams and Allison both producing miraculous interceptions to give England the all-important break. The Roses dutifully capitalised and drove on to a six-goal victory.
New Zealand, favoured to retain their crown, could only watch on as England players collapsed in celebration. Their historic World Cup campaign in South Africa was heralded by the sound of “Netball’s Coming Home” ringing out in triumph.
