England's netballers gathered on one of the opening nights of their pre-World Cup camp to watch their compatriots in the semi-finals of football’s big event.
For coach Tracey Neville, the heartache was poignant with brother, Phil, overseeing the England side, to the extent she felt sick at the final whistle of the 2-1 defeat to the USA.
The BBC recorded viewing figures of 28.1million over the World Cup and there is a hope a rise in playing numbers will follow.
England Netball, meanwhile, saw a surge of 150,000 in the two months after the thrilling 52-51 win in the Commonwealth Games Final against Australia.
Aussie netball dominance is pronounced; they have missed out on the World Cup title just three times in 14 tournaments and are still world No1.
But Helen Housby, who scored the winning goal at those Games, said: “Everyone wants to win it in their own back yard and our four-year cycle has been building towards this moment. There’s pressure, but we need to use it to our advantage. It’s just a privilege to be playing a World Cup, we need to play as though our lives depend on it.”
Housby knows World Cup glory would eclipse her match-winning heroics on the Gold Coast last year. But Neville is doing her best to downplay expectations before their first match against Uganda in Liverpool this evening (6.30pm, live for free on Sky Sports Netball).
“I can’t think about the outcome now, but of course we set ourselves the goal of winning the gold,” she said. “The Commonwealth Games put us in the shop window and every day we’ve been building for this. But each day is a challenge and we have to get through with a tick.”
Neville, who won 81 caps, describes the current crop as the best 12 England have had and hails her players’ professionalism. It is their big moment to spread word of the game.
She said: “We saw it with Phil and the Women’s Football World Cup that it’s not just about the World Cup, but creating a legacy. The Commonwealth Games impact was huge — not just sponsorship and commercial, but in terms of participation with 150,000 more people in the one or two months afterwards. It’s about getting more people into the sport. We want more talking about netball.”
Housby is one of the players best versed in unpicking the Australians, given she plays for the New South Wales Swifts. “We have the belief we can get over the line when before we were maybe a bronze-medal side,” she said.
“We don’t want the Commonwealth Games to be a one-off. The Lionesses inspired a younger generation and we want to be a part of it.”
