In the opening match of the Vitality Roses test series against South Africa, it was hosts South Africa who came out victorious with a 52-48 victory.
Captain Fran Williams said: “I do think we showed tenacity, particularly in the way that we came back out after half time. We didn’t start strong, we looked a bit off the pace in attack and we weren’t taking the ball cleanly. The South African defence were punishing us for that so we just need to be stronger in terms of the setups and the balls that we’re trying to take.
“I’m so proud of my girls in the way that they kept fighting. We need a big response now to come back and win the double header at the weekend.”
Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: “I think we’re lucky we’ve got some tactical diversity, but both sides did a great job at counteracting each other and I think we were a bit wasteful. We were found wanting for turnover because of being behind for too much of the game and then we weren’t quite able to get that foothold. So when you’re desperately looking for ball there’s a risk of becoming quite isolated.
“Credit to the Proteas, it’s exactly the type of team we want to play. Bring it on on Saturday.”
The two teams will play again in Johannesburg on Saturday 31 January, with the first centre pass at 15:00 GMT
With thanks to England Netball
