Silver Ferns Exhibition Match Two

Silver Ferns Exhibition Match Two

15 January 2014

Media Release

Two exhibition matches against the Scottish Thistles have given Silver Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu plenty to ponder ahead of two tests against Jamaica and England.

The Silver Ferns beat Scotland 63-26 in Glasgow as they continue their build-up to this year’s Commonwealth Games in the same city.

They now head to London for tests against Jamaica (Saturday) and England (Tuesday) before a final exhibition match against England A.

The trip to Glasgow gave Taumaunu the opportunity to trial a number of combinations against Scotland.

The Ferns however, were made to work harder this morning in game two – following their 72-18 romp over Scotland earlier this week – with the Thistles, as expected, showing more confidence across the court.

Scotland injected more pace through court with Clare Brownie and Rachel Forbes taking the ball to the frontline well.

The Thistles also took a step up in the shooting circle, showing their intention to improve from the disappointing 55 per cent accuracy in the first exhibition game.  The combination of June McNeill and Lesley Macdonald found enough space in the circle to frustrate the Ferns’ defence and slotted their goals well.

The Ferns led 14-7 at the first break as coach Waimarama Taumaunu re-jigged her entire front line with Millie Lees replacing Laura Langman at centre, Shannon Francois coming off the bench to wing attack while Jodi Brown and Irene van Dyk teamed up in the shooting circle.

Francois, who proved the find of the Constellation Cup last year, continued her improvement in the wing attack bib delivering a good long ball into her shooters while mixing it up with a strong drive to the circle when needed.

An injury break from the Thistles prompted more changes from the Ferns with Katrina Grant and Leana de Bruin switching bibs in the defensive circle.

The Ferns turned over enough ball to make a considerable impact on the board. Taumaunu looked at more combinations in the third quarter – the Ferns leading 28-15 – with Cathrine Latu returning to the shooting bib, Courtney Tairi moving to centre and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit to goal defence with Phoenix Karaka coming on to wing defence.

The Ferns turned on their best scoring performance in the third spell, netting seven unanswered goals immediately after the main break, and restricting Scotland to just three goals during 15 minutes.

Langman and Lees returned to the mid-court for the final quarter along with van Dyk and Tutaia while there was more re-jigging of the defensive line-up as well as the Ferns looked to finish well.

The young defensive combination of Karaka and Selby-Rickit gained more valuable time together in the circle while Grant, who was tested in the wing defence bib last year, was given another run on the wing.

The Ferns again showed their speed through the court and ability to transition ball from defence to attack with ease.

Quarter scores:  14-7, 28-15, 44-18, 63-26.

Starting line-ups
Silver Ferns:  Cathrine Latu GS, Maria Tutaia GA, Camilla Lees WA, Laura Langman C, Joline Henry WD, Leana de Bruin GD, Katrina Grant GK.

Scotland:  June McNeill GS, Lesley Macdonald GA, Karin Connell WA, Sam Murphy C, Clare Brownie WD, Rachel Forbes GD, Hayley Mulheron GK.

ENDS

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