The 2023 Netball World Cup was held for the first time in South Africa. Contested every four years, it is the premier competition in international netball.
Sixteen nations contested the title and after two group stage rounds, the top four teams in the world, England, Jamaica, Australia and New Zealand, predictably all made it to the semi-finals. However, the slight surprise was that both Australia and New Zealand lost games to England and Jamaica respectively in the 2nd stage group games, setting up the semi finals of England v New Zealand and Australia v Jamaica. For other weaker nations in world netball, including Wales and Scotland, it was a good experience for them to compete against the best, but large wins of 50 goals or more for the ‘big four’ were not unusual in the group stages.
For England, it was certainly a better showing than the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where they were disappointed to finish outside the medals. Possibly the best game of the tournament was their 56-55 victory over the eventual winners Australia, as they overcame an eight-goal deficit in the third quarter to win a thriller by one goal.
England’s semi-final against New Zealand was again extremely tight, with the score tied 32-32 at three-quarter-time. The Roses kept their composure to overpower New Zealand in the final quarter, winning 46-40 in the end and qualifying for the final for the first time. For defending champions New Zealand, who unfortunately lost their star player Grace Nweke in the group stages, it was a disappointing tournament. It’s the first time ever that they have finished outside the medals at the tournament, as they lost to Jamaica in the bronze medal match.
Unfortunately for England, the team couldn’t quite maintain their standards. The requirement for them to play three high-quality ‘finals’ in succession proved slightly too much for them, as they went down 61-45 in the final to a relentless AUSTRALIA who took their 12th title.
ANGELA BREWER
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