England Netball have announced that the Vitality Roses will play Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls in a new four-year international test series played across both countries.
The Vitality Roses will play Jamaica in the new Vitality Netball Horizon Series on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November 2024 at the AO Arena in Manchester and on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 November 2024 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica.
This announcement marks the start of a brand new four-year series called the Vitality Netball Horizon Series that will be held across England and Jamaica, with two home matches to be played in England and two away matches played in Jamaica for the next four years.
As a new regular fixture in the international calendar, the Vitality Horizon Netball Series embodies a bold step into an exciting future for international netball. Building on an already great rivalry and looking to disrupt the world order of international netball this year and beyond, the Vitality Netball Horizon Series is truly representative of the look towards an exciting future that the series’ name evokes.
This test series will reignite the rivalry between the Vitality Roses and Jamaica, who are currently ranked third and fourth in the world respectively. The two sides last met in 2023 in a three-match test series played in Manchester and London which saw the Vitality Roses defeat Jamaica 73-52 in the first match, take a narrow 58-61 loss in the second match, and claim the series with a 63-59 win in the third and final test.
The two sides did not meet in the draw at the Netball World Cup last summer, which saw the Vitality Roses earn an historic silver medal, whilst Jamaica finished just behind in third place.
England Netball Performance Director David Parsons said: “We are thrilled to be able to announce this initiative that will bring together two nations that share a great history off the court, and a special sporting rivalry on it.
“Through their performances in recent major tournaments, both nations have shown that they are able to compete with the best in the world. Our joint commitment to play this series in each of the next four years, at home and away, provides us with the opportunity to cement our relationship and to showcase some brilliant netball annually to the fans of both nations.”
Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: “We are excited to introduce this new and innovative Vitality Netball Horizon Series against the Sunshine Girls into our international competition calendar. Both nations have enjoyed success at recent major tournaments with Jamaica taking silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and the Vitality Roses securing silver at the Netball World Cup in South Africa after making our first ever World Cup final last summer. The long and competitive history between us both, combined with a shared desire to shake up the world order makes for a tantalising match-up that fans can enjoy every year.
“Many of the Sunshine Girls are much talked about regarding their impressive form in Suncorp Super Netball and we are keen to ensure we continue to pit ourselves against not only the current world number one and two, but another highly ranked nation as Jamaica continue to impress on the international stage.
“We have enjoyed series wins at home against Jamaica in recent years which were over ten years in the making and always enjoy playing in these head-to-heads that deliver flamboyant, exciting netball and a showcase of high skill level from both sides. Here’s to more edge-of-your seat netball as we embark on a new groundbreaking competition programme.”
Recently appointed Sunshine Girls Head Coach, Sasher-Gaye Henry also highlighted the historic nature of the series. “Jamaica and England have a long tradition of exciting match-ups” she said, “the home and away nature of the series gives us something to look forward to for the next four years. The last time we played England at home we came away with a narrow victory. The netball community in Jamaica is longing to see the Sunshine Girls play on local soil, and we are looking forward to putting on a good show as the teams are evenly matched.”
The series will form part of an exciting international calendar which will see the Vitality Roses travel to Australia to face the world number one Australian Diamonds and then to New Zealand to play the Silver Ferns in the Taini Jamison Trophy in September and October 2024.
A squad announcement and more information on the broadcast plans for these matches will be shared closer to the time.
With thanks to England Netball
