Australia have won the netball World Cup for the 12th time, regaining the crown with a 61-45 victory over England in the final in Cape Town.
England, in their first World Cup final, were dominated for most of the match, down 27-23 at halftime, before the Diamonds surged away to enter the final break 10 goals up at 46-36.
The Diamonds celebrate after their win.Credit:
Led by an inspirational defensive performance from Courtney Bruce, the Diamonds stretched their victory margin to a huge 16 points.
They denied England their maiden World Cup win after finishing in their first final at the tournament major.
Goal attack and player of the match Kiera Austin said it would take a while for the win to sink in.
Joanna Weston in action during the Netball World Cup final match in Cape Town against England. Credit:
“I don’t have words. I’m so proud to have gone out there and won it for Australia. We wanted to write our own script and we did,” Austin told World Netball after the game.
“It took all 15 of us that came over here to win it… props to England, they put up a really good fight. I don’t think it will sink in for a while.”
The trophy completes Australia’s set after they claimed every other piece of silverware on offer in the past four-year cycle – the Constellation Cup, Commonwealth Games gold medal, the Quad Series and the England Test series.
It also sends wing defence and centre star Ash Brazill off on a high, as it was the last time she will play in an international game or at the highest level after the veteran announced her retirement. Brazill has played 13 domestic seasons and appeared in the national side since 2015.
Ash Brazill Credit:
Brazill said she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face for the last ten minutes of the match.
“England beat us in the rounds and everyone loved targeting us,” she said.
Among them, England’s goal shooter Helen Housby who said her team was fitter and more energetic than the Diamonds.
“That just got everyone fighting,” Brazill said.
“We really wanted to beat Jamaica (in the semi-final) so we could play against these guys again, and we’ve done it the way we wanted to. The last two games were some of the best netball we’ve played in a long time.
“I’m so proud of these girls. The fact we’re standing here as world champions, I just couldn’t wish for a better ending. I’ll never play netball again. How can I top this?”
The Roses beat the Diamonds in the preliminary stages of the tournament by one goal (56-55) in what was their first victory over Australia in 14 World Cup meetings. They showed good defensive work and forced Australia to make costly turnovers.
In Sunday’s final, Australia started with strong momentum after the first centre pass ended in a costly turnover for England, but the scores levelled up to 13-13 by quarter-time. The Diamonds took a four-goal lead at halftime, but did the most damage in the third quarter to take a nine-goal lead into the final break of the match.
Australia were excellent in their conversion game, especially in their centre passes, and their defensive work caused the Roses to make multiple errors.
While at times the Diamonds were pressured to make short, sharp passes, their cohesion was clear and rarely slipped up.
Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich made two key changes midway through the second quarter, with Sophie Garbin replacing Cara Koenen, and Austin coming on for Steph Wood. Austin finished on 88 percent with 15 goals from 17.
Marinkovoch said the game plan wasn’t as much a strategy – after their loss to England three days earlier – but rather a doubling down on what they knew they could do well.
“Not so much a change of game plan but just trying to execute what we’re good at. It’s a tight tussle out there,” Marinkovich told Fox Sports before half-time.
Garbin, who didn’t play in the Diamond’s semi-final win over Jamaica or the preliminary loss to England, came on with a few jitters but settled by the third quarter and pummeled goals during the second half. In defence, Jo Weston and Bruce were stalwarts.
While England were clearly upset, their presence in the final and earlier win over Australia proves the gap in global netball is closing. Australia and New Zealand have featured in every final in the tournament’s history but are now being challenged by more than just each other – Jamaica being the other notable contender.
Australia’s next major tournament is the Constellation Cup in October.
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