England clinched their place in the Netball World Cup semi-finals with a match to spare after defeating Fiji 89-28 in a late-night game in Cape Town.
With 16 places separating the Roses from the Pearls in the world rankings, victory was all but guaranteed but the nature of it – being England’s fifth game in as many days – was less so. Mental sharpness and fatigue were as much the challenges as taking on Fiji in the country’s 10th World Cup.
If there were any doubts about keeping concentration in the face of muscle soreness then England’s stunning 26-8 opening quarter quickly laid such thoughts to bed. The Roses were more akin to a venus fly trap than their namesake as they ensnared the Fijians across the court to intercept the ball. Patiently waiting for reward were shooters Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell who took aim from anywhere and everywhere to launch England’s start.
Hitting the 50-goal mark on the stroke of half-time the Roses continued to roll past the Pearls throughout the second half. The only blemish on an otherwise spotless record was the 15 general-play turnovers, mitigated and then some by Fiji’s 44. As she has done in every game so far, the England coach, Jess Thirlby, introduced all 12 of her squad to the court, keeping things fresh ahead of Thursday’s final pool game against Australia.
“There were some things we wanted to chase today so that we could keep improving and feeling confident ahead of what we know will be a massive step up, so I think we did reward that effort today,” Thirlby said.
England’s win guarantees them a top-two finish in Pool F and a semi-final on Saturday. Their opponent will be decided after the final round of pool games on Thursday when New Zealand take on Jamaica.
On facing the 11-time World Cup winners, Thirlby stayed quiet on tactics and gave a pragmatic outlook about what the game would offer. “It is relentless playing Australia, I think there is just no shirking it. It is relentless: just physically and mentally,” the England coach said.
“It is what it is at this level. The top-four teams know each other really well, it’s what you do with it and it comes down to who executes the game better.”
