The struggling New Zealand side will wrap up their international season with two tests against the English, beginning in Rotorua tonight. After a horror series against Australia in the Constellation Cup, in which they were on the receiving end of some ugly defeats, it is vital the Ferns restore some confidence and pride in their final hit-outs of the year as they look ahead to next year's World Cup in Sydney.
The 4-0 series loss to the Diamonds exposed some major problems in the Ferns' attack end, with their inability to get unstressed ball into the hands of the shooters the main cause of some heavy defeats. The Ferns made noticeable improvement in this area in their final outing against Australia, with rookie shooter Bailey Mes and Jodi Brown having unexpected success at breaking through the suffocating Australian defence.
Outside of the circle, midcourter Grace Rasmussen proved much more effective across the series at providing good ball into the shooters.
The performances of the trio in the final test against Australia, the only game of the series the Ferns looked to have a chance of winning, have posed some difficult questions for the selectors ahead of the England series. Do they go back to their more experienced stars Cathrine Latu and Liana Leota and see how they can respond after a disappointing series against the Diamonds? Or do they continue to show faith in the newcomers?
Coach Waimarama Taumaunu has indicated she will look to continue to develop her side's attacking options over this series, but the dangerous England side are unlikely to present much opportunity for wholesale changes during the games. For that to happen, things would have to be going very, very well or very, very poorly.
Rasmussen, who was a controversial omission from the Ferns' Commonwealth Games team, hopes her performances during the Constellation Cup series has been enough to win her a starting berth tonight. The Magic midcourter believes she has developed her game considerably in the last month.
"Obviously the results were pretty devastating, but I'm really pleased with the experience I was able to get out on court. It was the first time I've played against Australia in the wing attack role [having only previously had six minutes goal attack]. I felt that I built every game and was able to get more comfortable and familiar with that feeling of playing against the Aussies," she said.
"I was just grateful for the opportunity to be able to implement those learnings from one game to the next."
While the Ferns attack took a major step forward in the final test against Australia, Rasmussen said developing the links on attack has remained the major work-on heading into the England series. Anchored by ANZ Championship stars Geva Mentor (Vixens) and Eboni Beckford-Chambers (previously Fever, now Thunderbirds), Rasmussen said the English defensive end will be tough to crack.
"The English defenders are similar to the Australians, they are very strong in the air and physical, so we need to make sure our connections are spot on. We've done quite a lot of work these past couple of days with our feeding into the shooters and making sure that understanding is there," she said.
Silver Ferns v England, tonight, 7.30pm, Energy Events Centre, Rotorua
Teams:
Silver Ferns: Laura Langman (captain), Jodi Brown, Kayla Cullen, Leana de Bruin, Temalisi Fakahokotau, Katrina Grant, Joline Henry,Cathrine Latu, Liana Leota, Bailey Mes, Grace Rasmussen, Ameliaranne Wells.
England: Jade Clarke (captain), Ama Agbeze, Rosie Allison, Sara Bayman, Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Sam Cook, Kadeen Corbin, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Serena Guthrie, Jo Harten, Helen Housby.
- Dana Johannsen of the New Zealand Herald
