A 46-40 loss has kicked the Silver Ferns out of the Netball World Cup final, and sets up a potential lowest-ever finish for the side.
A horror final five minutes has denied the Silver Ferns a spot in the Netball World Cup final for the first time in 28 years.
They'll face Jamaica in the playoff game for bronze after Australia took out the other semifinal in Cape Town 57-54 overnight.
In the early match, with scores tied 40-all and everything to play for in the semifinal, the England Roses scored the final six goals to secure their spot in the gold medal match.
A tearful Silver Fern Phoenix Karaka summed it up in her post-match interview with Sky Sport.
“It sucks, it’s shit,” she said.
The Ferns had a few chances to push a lead, but lost the ball on attack, any long passes being snatched up by the Roses defence.
“People make mistakes all the time and it’s not just down to those critical moments,” Karaka said.
“There are times during the game when we need to step up, all of us and own the mistakes that we have made.”
Gina Crampton was also tearful after the game, admitting personal mistakes towards the end.
“That was our game, we needed to take that,” she said.
“We fought hard throughout the whole game and then just those final moments - and we spoke about that as well.”
Coach Dame Noeline Taurua was critical after some of their earlier wins, but was surprisingly gentle after the loss.
“Obviously definitely devastated, disappointed with not being able to go through the grand final, but they gave it their best and that’s all I can ask,” she told Sky Sport.
“We’ve just got to get ourselves ready for tomorrow’s match and look to be better than we were today.”
The Silver Ferns facing England in a World Cup semifinal isn’t an unusual sight - but this time it was different.
The Kiwis are used to being the top qualifier, often unbeaten through pool play and favourites to beat the Roses.
But this time the Ferns were coming off a surprise draw with South Africa, and a heavy loss to Jamaica - the 11 goal margin the largest World Cup defeat for the Ferns.
And the English were coming off an unexpected high, their one goal win over the Australian Diamonds their first at a World Cup, setting them up to play against the wounded Ferns side.
England have been forced to the bronze medal match every World Cup since they moved from a round-robin format with no finals in 1991. They’ve won bronze six times, including the last three tournaments.
New Zealand have never come lower than third, and they’re on the brink of leaving their first World Cup without a medal.
The lead see-sawed throughout the match, never exceeding three until the final moments, but the Ferns attack never looked comfortable.
It was the story of the World Cup, ever since they lost goal shoot Grace Nweke to a knee injury three games in.
Maia Wilson, the Ferns’ top pick at goal shoot, played exceptionally well, coming out of the circle often when the Ferns couldn’t find their middies in the attacking third, but that left no one under the post. She finished on 25 goals from as many attempts, the Ferns missing just the one goal all game.
Having to adjust to missing a key cog in the attacking end was a problem that plagued the Ferns in their last three games.
“I think that’s probably been the story of the tournament really,” Taurua told Sky Sport.
“We’ve been able to turn a lot of ball over defensively but just probably haven’t had enough prowess in our attacking mindset to be able to take the ball from one end to the other.
“Also they’re working really hard to actually get the ball in the circle to put the ball through the hoop. So Grace has always been a huge loss for us but also I can only commend the people who have taken the court.”
Taurua was hesitant to use her subs during the final games, not making any changes until part way through the final quarter in both of the team’s losses.
And by the time she did make changes, it was too late, the Ferns having lost momentum and the new players not having enough time to settle on court to make any impact.
The Silver Ferns have faced dark days before, finishing fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, before the high of winning the 2019 World Cup.
And now they face the low again, with a tough rebuild ahead to get back to the top.
*The Silver Ferns will play in the bronze medal match at 2am on Monday, live on Sky Sport, with the gold medal match played at 4am.
