Latest from the FAST5 Netball World Series Christchurch 2022

DAY 2

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Classification Matches

Australia 34 – 20 South Africa

Final

It was Australia that came out on top when these sides faced each other on day 1, however both sides had been on fine form throughout the competition.

It was an even start to the match with both sides converting off their centre passes and taking the 1 point shots, and this continued through the powerplay until Nichole Taljaard converted a 4 point shot to give South Africa a 10-9 lead at the first break.

A similar tactic was taken by both teams in the second quarter as they opted to work the ball close to the post rather than risk missing shots from distance. At the start of the powerplay there was just 1 goal separating the sides, and this remained the state of play at half-time with the score Australia 17 – 16 South Africa.

Georgie Horjus extended Australia’s lead in the third quarter with a 2 point shot making the score 22 – 18. As the powerplay approached the score was 24 – 20 to Australia and this remained the score line with 6 minutes remaining. 

South Africa began to take risks as they had limited time to turn the game around, but this gave Australia opportunities to extend their lead which they took full advantage of. As the final powerplay of the tournament started Australia had a 10 goal lead, and they began to keep the ball away from South Africa with the final score Australia 34 – 20 South Africa.

Congratulations Australia who win the FAST5 Netball World Series.

England 25 – 39 New Zealand

3rd/4th Place

When the sides played each other on day 1 it was England that came out on top with a 1 goal victory in the last second of the match. Both sides looked to be settling the nerves in the early stages as they played risk-free netball and opted against 2 or 3 point shots. At the start of the powerplay England had taken a 3 goal lead, but it was New Zealand that performed best in the powerplay with a 4 point shot making the 1st quarter score England 8 – 7 New Zealand.

New Zealand started the second quarter with the momentum, as Aliyah Dunn netted a 2 point shot to give her side the lead in the first minute. Dunn had her eye in, and scored a further 4 2 point goals to give her side a 4 goal lead at the start of the powerplay. It was a relatively quiet powerplay with the half-time score England 15 – 17 New Zealand. 

The New Zealand circle defence were making sure they claimed every rebound when the opportunity came and this helped them claim a 6 goal lead with a minute left on the clock. But, England came back firing in the powerplay with Paige Reed netting a 4 point shot to make the score England 22 – 26 New Zealand with 6 minutes remaining. 

England were finding it hard work in attack with New Zealand applying a tight man-on-man defence, with Ellie Temu claiming both interceptions and rebounds. Georgia Heffernan then scored a 3 point shot to give New Zealand a 10 goal lead, and a goal on the buzzer gave New Zealand a 14 goal victory. Final score England 25 – 39 New Zealand. 

New Zealand finish 3rd, whilst England take 4th spot. 

Uganda 32 – 10 Jamaica

5th/6th Place

It was a steady start to the 5th/6th place play-off match as both sides seemed happy to settle with 1 point goals. Uganda had a slender 2 goal lead as the first powerplay began, and they continued to play safe netball whilst extending their lead by scoring 2 pointers. At the first break the score was Uganda 8 – 2 Jamaica. 

Both teams continued to work the ball close to the post rather than taking on shots from distance, and Uganda were slowly building on their first quarter lead. They led by 8 at the start of the powerplay and extended this to 10 at the half-time whistle with the score 15 – 5. 

The teams seemed to take a few minutes to find their rhythm in the second half with very few goals scored, but as per the first half Uganda were building a comprehensive lead and went into the final break leading 23 – 6. 

Jamaica began to take a few risks in the final quarter and they were rewarded immediately with a 2 point goal, however Uganda responded instantly with a 2 point goal themselves. It was a professional display by Uganda who secured a comprehensive 32 – 10 victory to finish in 5th place. 

Australia Men 25 – 29 New Zealand Men

Final

This was the first time men had competed at the FAST5 Netball World Series and it was set to be an epic encounter as Australia faced New Zealand.

The first advantage was for New Zealand as Faitaua-Nanai scored a 2 point shot to give his side a 4 – 1 lead, however there was just 1 goal separating the sides as the first powerplay began. New Zealand managed to score 2 4 point shots in the powerplay, whilst Australia only netted one. At the break New Zealand led 13-8.

The atmosphere was building inside the stadium and the New Zealand players were responding with their defensive duo winning a number of rebounds. The New Zealand lead was 3 at the start of the powerplay and this lead remained the same at half-time with the score New Zealand 18 – 15 Australia. 

Australia leveled the scores with 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter, and the scores remained the same as they entered the powerplay. Both teams managed just 1 2 point goal during the 90 seconds with the scores 21 – 21 with 6 minutes remaining. 

The final quarter was end-to-end and Australia took the lead with a few minutes remaining and had a 2 goal lead for the start of the powerplay, but a 4 point goal from Thomson Matuku with just 60 seconds left on the clock gave New Zealand the lead and they held on to win 29 – 25. 

Congratulations to New Zealand Men. 

Group Matches

Jamaica 27 – 32 England

The first match of day 2 was a close encounter throughout, as England raced into a 5 -1 lead with Everitt claiming a great interception. England were leading 7-3 going into the powerplay, but a 4 point goal by Pinkney made the scores level at 9-9 at the first break.

At the start of the second powerplay Jamaica had secured a 1 goal, before a great 4 point shot by Allison for Jamaica gave them a 19-14 lead, however England responded instantly with their own 4 point shot to give Jamaica a 19-18 at half-time.

No team could break away in this match, as again the scores were level at 22-22 going into the powerplay, with a 4 point shot for England giving them a 26 – 22 lead with 6 minutes remaining. 

A great 2 point shot from Jamaica at the start of the final quarter brought Jamaica to within 2 of England immediately which got the crowd off their feet. England were up by 3 going into the final powerplay and they went on to win by 5 with the final score Jamaica 27 – 32 England. 

Uganda 32 – 30 Australia

Australia came into their 4th match of the tournament unbeaten, and they looked confident at the start of this match with their defensive unit making it challenging for Uganda to create chances at goal. However, Uganda were also putting Australia under immense pressure which led to a goal scoring first quarter with the score Australia 6 – 2 Uganda. 

Uganda came out firing at the start of the second quarter and they had the support of all fans within the Christchurch Arena with the score at the start of the powerplay Uganda 7 – 11 Australia, Australia then threatened to break away, however a 6 point goal by Uganda meant the score at half time was Uganda 13 – 15 Australia. 

There was nothing to separate the sides at the start of the second half with both teams converting 1 point shots. At the start of the powerplay, Australia had the lead by just 1 goal, but Uganda had the better powerplay as they claimed a 22 – 21 lead at the final break. 

Sophie Dwyer gave Australia a slender advantage at the start of the final 6 minutes with a 2 point shot, however Nassanga replied immediately for Uganda with a 2 point shot herself, but it  was Australia that had a 2 point lead at the start of the powerplay. Uganda raced into the lead with an amazing 4 point shot by Cholhok and they held on to claim an outstanding 2 goal victory. Final score Uganda 32 – 30 Australia.

New Zealand 37 – 38 South Africa

South Africa started the match with a high intensity to their play and made it difficult for New Zealand to find space and as a result New Zealand only managed to score 1 goal in the first 6 minutes as South Africa claimed a 5 – 1 lead. 

Four goals separated the sides at the start of the second powerplay with South Africa in the lead, and it remained this way with both goal shooters netting 2 4 point goals meaning at half-time the score was New Zealand 16 – 20 South Africa.

South Africa began to extend their lead at the start of the third quarter, but New Zealand brought themselves to within 4 of South Africa at the start of the powerplay and then netted a 4 point goal immediately to bring themselves level. South Africa then netted a 2 point goal to lead 28 – 26 at the final break. 

It was set to be a tight finish with just 5 goals separating the sides at the start of the powerplay, and Dunn netted a 4 point shot immediately to bring New Zealand to within 1. Aliyah Dunn followed this up with an epic 6 point shot as she look set to seal the win for New Zealand, however Smit responded for South Africa also scoring a 6 point goal as they reclaimed their 1 goal advantage. That gave South Africa their 3rd win of the tournament with a 38 – 37 victory. 

New Zealand Men 36 – 22 England Men

Both of these sides had lost to Australia on day 1, so the winner of this match would be through to the final to face Australia.

New Zealand flew out of the traps as they netted the first 5 goals of the match, however a 2 point shot from England goal shooter, Luke Owen, meant that just 3 goals was the difference as the powerplay began, and the powerplay was even with the score at the first break New Zealand Men 9 – 6 England Men. 

In the second quarter, the New Zealand defence of Swartz and Apisai were causing England problems as they struggled to get the ball to their shooting duo. This meant that New Zealand had a 13-8 lead at the start of the powerplay, and they extended this immediately with a 4 point shot. At half-time New Zealand led 19-8.

New Zealand extended their lead at the start of the third quarter as they went into the powerplay leading 26 – 12, and a quiet powerplay for both sides meant that the score with 6 minutes remaining was New Zealand 28 – 12 England.

It was New Zealand’s to lose in the 4th quarter, as England had to take on the long shots to try and reduce the New Zealand lead and unfortunately for England they weren’t converting frequently enough as New Zealand claimed the victory 36 – 22 meaning that New Zealand booked a final spot against Australia. 

Australia 34 – 28 England

These sides came into this match in 1st and 2nd place having both lost just one match previously. Australia had the stronger start leading 6-3 as the powerplay approached, but a 6 point shot on the buzzer by Paige Reed gave England a slender 11 – 8 lead.

Australia started the second quarter well and a 2 point shot by Sophie Dwyer gave Australia a 1 goal lead at the halfway stage. The Australian side built on this to lead by 3 at the start of the powerplay, which they retained with the half-time score Australia 18 – 15 England. 

The early stages of the third quarter saw Australia extend their lead as they had claimed a 6 goal lead at the start of the powerplay. England managed to reduce the Australia lead to just 2 goals, however, Australia played sensible netball to ensure they retained their lead with the score at the break 26 – 22. 

The match situation had not altered too much as the final powerplay approached with Australia leading by just 6 goals, which England quickly reduced to 4. Australia held on to book their place in the final with a 34 – 28 victory. 

New Zealand 40 – 22 Jamaica

These sides came into this match in 5th and 6th position with both sides in need of the win. It was a steady start from both with New Zealand ahead by 2 at the start of the first powerplay. Both Dunn (New Zealand) and Allison (Jamaica) netted a 4 point goal with New Zealand leading 12 – 9 at the break. 

New Zealand started the second quarter well as they extended their lead to 8 goals at the start of the powerplay. Jamaica were unable to make the powerplay count as they couldn’t convert any shots from distance, at half-time the score was New Zealand 20 – 12 Jamaica. 

The home crowd urged New Zealand on at the start of the second half, and the team responded as they claimed a 13 goal lead going into the powerplay. They extended this further with a 4 point goal on the buzzer by Metuarau to lead 35 – 16 with 6 minutes remaining. 

Jamaica came out fighting in the final quarter with a 3 point shot reducing the New Zealand lead, but New Zealand retained a significant lead at the start of the final powerplay and clinched the win with the final score 40 – 22. 

Uganda 22 – 27 South Africa

It was all to play for in the final match of the group stages with a final place still technically possible for both sides. The match had even start with both sides fighting for every ball, but it was South Africa that went into the break with a slender 2 goal lead.

The second quarter followed a similar pattern to that of the first with neither side able to break away. The scores were level as they entered the powerplay, and both Mary Cholhok and Zandre Smit netted 4 point goals to ensure South Africa retained their 2 goal lead with the score 13 – 11. 

South Africa began to extend their lead in the third quarter as they went into the powerplay leading 19 – 14, and they had the better of the powerplay as they secured a 9 goal lead at the final break. 

Uganda came out fighting in the final 6 minutes with Nassanga netting a 2 point shot to help reduce the South Africa lead to 5, but South Africa held on to win 27 – 22 and book their place in the final against Australia.