Pressure on as Silver Ferns make 12th visit to Invercargill
Invercargill will host the Silver Ferns for the 12th time on Sunday night when the take on England at ILT Stadium Southland.
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A lot has happened in the netball world since July 7, 2001 when Invercargill hosted the Silver Ferns for their first ever international match in the city.
ILT Stadium Southland, where the Silver Ferns played that day, has since collapsed and been rebuilt.
The opposition team in 2001 - England - was also a shadow of what they are able to now roll out on court 23 years on.
The Silver Ferns won that first international fixture in Invercargill 78-30 and fast forward the clock to 2024 and the two teams will go at again on Sunday night.
It will be the 12th time the Silver Ferns have played at ILT Stadium Southland, and we can all quickly agree that there won’t be a repeat of the 48-goal margin that unfolded in 2001 between New Zealand and England.
England has already wrapped up the 2024 Taini Jamison Trophy winning the first two games in the three-match test series.
And they have got the Silver Ferns - in particular coach Dame Noeline Taurua - under pressure.
Questions marks have been raised around Taurua’s use of the bench, most notably in Wednesday night’s second test loss to England in Porirua.
It was also New Zealand’s fifth loss from their past seven encounters against England, stretching back to last year’s World Cup semifinal loss.
Maddy Gordon, Kimiora Poi and Kate Heffernan were all used at centre in Porirua and former Silver Ferns captain Adine Wilson was amongst those confused by the situation.
“I won’t lie – it was intriguing. We were certainly scratching our heads, going, ‘What are we trying to achieve here?’ I think particularly that initial change of Maddy going off, it just unsettled the team,” Wilson told NewstalkZB.
New Zealand’s two losses featured momentum shifts after halftime, with the Ferns losing the third quarter of game two 18-12.
Wilson suggested the wheels were coming off after strong starts.
The Silver Ferns have never been whitewashed by England in a series on home soil and Invercargill is not the place southern netball followers will want that unwanted first to play out.
A large and vocal Invercargill crowd will look to play its part on Sunday night. And if there is a bit of peace in the lead-up to Sunday it is the fact the Silver Ferns have won their past two games in Invercargill. A 56-53 victory over Australia last year and before that a 57-47 win over Australia in 2017.
The last time New Zealand and England squared off in Invercargill was in 2011 when England won 53-52. That game was played inside the SIT Velodrome in the aftermath of the Stadium Southland roof collapse in 2010.
Given where things are at, at the moment, there is every chance that 53-52 scoreline from 2011 might be in play 13 years on.
The first centre pass for Sunday’s test in Invercargill is scheduled for 7.30pm.
Silver Ferns record in Invercargill:
2023 - v Australia, 56-53 WIN
2017 - v Australia, 57-47 WIN
2016 - v Australia, 49-45 loss
2014 - v Australia, 59-42 loss
2013 - v Australia, 55-51 WIN
2011 - v England, 53-52 WIN
2009 - v Australia, 47-46 loss
2005 - v England, 55-40 WIN
2002 - v Barbados, 88-27 WIN
2001 - v Australia, 58-47 WIN
2001 - v England, 78-30 loss