Latu, an Auckland netball stalwart who went to secondary school just up the road from the stadium at Massey High School, took the court to rousing applause in the second half of the opening test win over England.
Eager to make a statement in their first hit-out since their devastating world championship loss, the Ferns outclassed the inexperienced English side, despite introducing several new players of their own.
Making their debut alongside Latu were 19-year-old defenders Kayla Cullen, who came on at wing defence in the second half, and Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick, who took the court in the final quarter at goal keep.
Nerves were evident in the performances of all three newcomers and some of the new combinations still lack polish, leaving Joline Henry convinced the side can produce an even stronger performance in the second test in Invercargill on Thursday.
‘‘I think there are lots and lots of good things we can take from that, but I guess that good thing is we've still got more to give,'' she said.
‘‘We're trying new things out there and we kind of don't know each other as well as we would like, but that just means we have lots of room to improve.''
The trio played their first tests in front of a sold-out crowd, with Ferns' fans defying predictions that few would make the trek out to Waitakere with that other big sporting event going on in the city.
A large section of the seats behind the New Zealand team bench were taken up by Latu's family, sporting T-shirts emblazoned with ‘‘Team Latu''.
The 24-year-old shooter, one of 10 siblings, has been ineligible to represent New Zealand until now as she played for Samoa in her teens.
The occasion moved Latu to tears as she ran on to sing the New Zealand national anthem for the first time.
It was also an emotional night for another crowd favourite, Temepara George, as the former Ferns vice-captain was farewelled on the court she has delighted fans on for the past four years with the Mystics.
Netball New Zealand made a special presentation to George at the three-quarter break in the match. She retired following the world championships in Singapore.
New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken threw a surprise in to her starting line-up, with Anna Thompson joining Irene van Dyk in the shooting circle.
Despite some nervous shooting under the close attention of energetic defenders Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Stacey Francis, Thompson had a strong game, linking in well with the attack to set up a commanding 34-18 halftime lead.
Established Mystics pairing Maria Tutaia and Latu then took the court in the second half but, despite their long-standing combination, struggled early on and could not keep the scoreboard ticking over at the same rate as the opening duo.
The Ferns also missed the attacking influence of Joline Henry in the second half, with the wing defence driving well through court and putting in some beautiful passes in to the shooting circle from the transverse line. Despite playing just 30 minutes of netball, Henry was deservedly named player of the match for her impact.
But even with the miscommunications on attack and at times overly-ambitious play, the Ferns still outscored England in both of the final two periods to claim the convincing win. - New Zealand Herald
