Netball: Silver Ferns slow down improved England to take an impregnable lead in the Taini Jamison Trophy

Silver ferns 54
England 47

Silver Ferns can count their lucky stars.

Another win over England may look good on their record, but the Ferns have a lot to weigh after another not-so-pretty outing at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton.

Coach Dame Noeline Taurua called out the world champions for being “shy” in the first test, saying they had taken a step back from last week’s warm-up series, and that tonight’s match was not a great one. step in the right direction.

How it happened: Silver Ferns keeps England at bay

Speaking after the game, Captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio was frank in her assessment.

“It’s not a pass from Noeline, but it’s not even a pass from us,” he said. “We really wanted to improve, England learned a lot too, but there are still a lot of things we wanted to show in tonight’s game that we just didn’t complete.”

“Happy to have the series, but I’m definitely not happy with what we put on the court.”

It was an unchanged Silver Ferns starting lineup that hit the court tonight, but unlike Test 1, it was England that took over.

The English midfield, led by co-captain Serena Guthrie, disrupted the Ferns flow, forcing a series of turnovers.

Silver Fern’s shooters, Ekenasio and Maia Wilson, struggled to break free from England’s defenses at times, with a few sloppy passes to the circle that didn’t help their cause.

Though initially kept awaiting changes, it didn’t take long in an equally mediocre second quarter for Taurua to look at her bench.

Jane Watson left the court as Karin Burger ran in the goal-defense bib, joining her Central Pulse teammate Sulu Fitzpatrick.

England shooter George Fisher provided a new opponent for the pair to defend. The young man handled the pressure well, nailing all 17 goal attempts.

As England enjoyed a string of goals to take the lead, the Ferns were left confused about how to combat a much fiercer version of their opponents.

A few more positional changes followed, including Claire Kersten in center, as New Zealand managed to keep in touch to fall behind by two goals at halftime.

Taurua’s message was clear during the break, telling him by his side to focus on executing the basics. The hosts quickly turned the tables to score the first six goals of the second half.

England’s chances of winning were made more difficult when Guthrie fell to the ground, suffered an ankle injury and was carried away by her teammates in what was her 100th test.

The Ferns continued with a smoother connection heading into the later part of the game, taking the victory along with the Taini Jamison Trophy with a game to spare.

The final test begins at 7:30 pm on Sunday night.