{"id":1149,"date":"2023-07-29T19:46:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T17:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2024-01-22T09:04:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T07:04:49","slug":"fiji-upset-zimbabwe-as-new-zealand-australia-and-jamaica-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/29\/fiji-upset-zimbabwe-as-new-zealand-australia-and-jamaica-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiji upset Zimbabwe as New Zealand, Australia and Jamaica progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZIMBABWE 48 – 52 FIJI<\/strong>
\nBoth Zimbabwe and Fiji were hungry for their first wins of the tournament after suffering opening day losses at the hands of Australia and Tonga respectively.
\nPlaying against each other for the first time at a Netball World Cup, it was a tightly contested opening quarter. A run of five unanswered goals saw Zimbabwe pulling ahead at one point but the Fiji Pearls came back at them, effectively making use of the soon-to-be-outlawed short pass to eventually level matters at 11-11. By the first break, Zimbabwe had just edged ahead by two goals.
\nThe second quarter was once again a neck-and-neck affair, Fiji levelling matters five minutes in and then taking a one-goal lead into the halftime break.
\nFiji notched up another impressive scoring run towards the end of the third quarter to surge nine goals ahead at one point and didn\u2019t look back from there. The Pearls opened their gap to 10 goals at one point, and while the Zimbabweans did rally in the final quarter, winning it 13-9, it was not enough to avoid the upset loss.
\nSpeaking after the match, Fiji coach Unaisi Rokoura said: \u201cWe knew coming into today\u2019s game it was do-or-die for us and each sub-unit in the team had specific goals and targets that they had to work on in different areas in terms of defensively, marking one on one and identifying the key player which is their goal attack and we shut her down.
\n\u201cWe knew Zimbabwe was going to come with a physical game and we had to be smarter and just play our own Fijian style of play which is keeping it short and simple and that\u2019s what we did.\u201d
\nAfter finishing with a 93 percent shooting average, Fijian goal attack Unaisi Raulani was named Most Valuable Player and said: \u201cI feel very excited because this was a do-or-die game. We had to win this one to go to the next level.\u201d
\nAsked what made the difference for her side today, Rokoura reckoned: \u201cI think it was just teamwork and communication on court, and also being consistent in everything we did on court.\u201d
\nAn understandably disappointed Zimbabwe captain Felisitus Kwangwa said: \u201cI can say honestly everyone is very sad, including me. We just had a terrible start [to the tournament] as a team.
\n\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t maximise on our opportunities that we got as a team and that\u2019s why we ended up here where we are right now.\u201d
\nAssistant coach Wisdom Shinya added: \u201cWe still have a long way to go, we still have our jobs to do ahead of tomorrow\u2019s game against Tonga. We just need to come out from the two losses and step up and do what we should have done in the last two games.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCORES<\/p>\n

Q1: 14-12<\/p>\n

Q2: 25-26 (11-14)<\/p>\n

Q3: 35-43 (10-17)<\/p>\n

Q4: 48-52 (13-9)<\/p>\n

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Unaisi Raulani (Fiji)<\/p>\n

NEW ZEALAND 54 – UGANDA 44<\/strong>
\nWorld champions New Zealand survived a scare from Uganda for a 54-44 victory to record their second win at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town. The Silver Ferns have now won all four of their World Cup encounters against the She Cranes.
\nNew Zealand were pushed to their limit in the first two quarters by their African opponents. Centre Margret Baagala worked hard in mid-court to move the ball through to the Ugandan goal circle, providing enough good scoring opportunities for goal shooter Mary Cholhok. The Silver Ferns however were not to be outdone, with Grace Nweke standing tall in the circle on the other end of the court, making sure she landed her shots.
\nNew Zealand went into halftime with a four-point lead, despite only having a third of the possession. It was their superior goal shooting, 92.3 per cent compared to Uganda\u2019s 83.3 per cent, that gave them the edge.
\nIn the third quarter, Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua brought on the experience of Jane Watson, Gina Crampton and Te Paea Selby-Rickit to prevent the first upset of the World Cup. Watson and South African-born Karin Burger proved a lethal combination on defence, starving the She Cranes of crucial ball in their attempt to close the growing gap on the scoreboard.
\nEven though it was goal-for-goal scoring in the last five minutes of the match, the world champions outmuscled the She Cranes for a vital victory. Uganda will rue the chances they missed and not remaining calm under pressure to get the better of their more fancied opponents.
\nBaagala, who was the most valuable player in Friday\u2019s victory over Singapore, played all four quarters for Uganda. She was once again a standout player for her.
\nTaurua credited her side\u2019s strong defensive effort as an important part of the Silver Ferns\u2019 victory.
\n\u201cOur systems are set and we are fine-tuning what to do against certain opposition. I\u2019m happy with how things are starting to settle and the progress we are making. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve discussed, that all 12 need to be ready in the combinations so that we can keep building and pose something different to the opposition.\u201d
\nDespite the loss, Ugandan coach Fred Mugerwa said he believed his 15-player squad, of which 13 players are making their World Cup debuts, will be on top of the world at some point.
\n\u201cAs a country we have talents. The only problem is the lack of exposure. Apart from the few warm-up matches we had here in Cape Town, our only preparation back home was against men\u2019s teams which were quite physical. Today we played our hearts out and we really wanted that win. Next time we shall do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCORES
\nQ1: 13-11<\/p>\n

Q2: 25-21 (12-10)<\/p>\n

Q3: 38-22 (13-11)<\/p>\n

Q4: 54-44 (16-12)<\/p>\n

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Phoenix Karaka (New Zealand)<\/p>\n

AUSTRALIA 84 – 38 TONGA<\/strong>
\nBoosted by their hard-fought victory over Fiji on the opening day of the tournament, the ever-improving Tonga team came out firing against 11-time Netball World Cup champions Australia in their Group A clash in Cape Town on Saturday.
\nThe Tongans used their physicality to exert a good deal of pressure on the Diamonds, also matching their speed to ensure it was a tight first 15 minutes.
\nTaking on a team playing in just their second Netball World Cup and ranked six places below them in the world, the Australians would most probably have expected to be further ahead than 15-13 at the first break, but it was an impressive opening period for the Tongan Tala.
\nAussie coach Stacey Marinkovich stuck with her starting seven in the second quarter and a 10-goal blitz at the start of the period saw the Diamonds pulling well ahead as normal order was restored.
\nGoal attack Steph Wood came on in the third quarter, so earning a 50th cap for the Australians as Paige Hadley (WA), Jo Weston (GD), Sophie Garbin (GS) and Sunday Aryang (WD) also came off the bench.
\nAs the game progressed, the Tongans seemed to run out of steam and their early intensity dissipated. They faced a 35-goal deficit by the final break and the Australians continued to dominate to wrap up an emphatic 84-38 win.
\nJamie-Lee Price was named Most Valuable Player. Speaking afterwards about the number of turnovers in the first quarter of the match, she said: \u201cObviously it\u2019s something we need to look at. We adjusted slowly in the first quarter, so I think it was just sticking to our gameplan \u2013 that\u2019s all we needed to do, really and just adjust to what they were putting out there.\u201d
\nCommenting on earning her 50th cap for her country, Wood added: \u201cIt\u2019s really special when you get to pull on the Australian dress, just to do it once is a goosebump moment but to think I\u2019ve been able to play 50 games is something really special and something I\u2019m really proud of.\u201d
\nTongan captain Hulita Veve said: \u201cI think we came out firing. I think we had the energy and we came out to play hard. We just needed to work on our consistency in the second quarter and then we lost momentum, but we\u2019ll go back and work on that one.\u201d
\nSCORES
\nQ1: 15-13<\/p>\n

Q2: 39-19 (24-6)<\/p>\n

Q3: 63-28 (24-9)<\/p>\n

Q4: 84-38 (22-10)<\/p>\n

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jamie-Lee Price<\/p>\n

JAMAICA 75 – 40 WALES<\/strong>
\nJamaica scored yet another big victory at the Netball World Cup 2023 when they beat Wales 75-40 in Cape Town. This after crossing the 100-mark against Sri Lanka on Friday. Their 105 was the highest score on day 1 while the winning margin (80) was the largest.
\nThere are five positions between Jamaica (4) and Wales (9) on the latest world rankings and it clearly showed as the Sunshine Girls dominated all four quarters of the match. Jamaica’s combination of sharp attacking play and solid defence proved too formidable for their opponents.
\nThe victory showcased Jamaica\u2019s skill, teamwork and strategic execution. Shooters Romelda Aiken-George, Rebekah Robinson and captain Jhaniele Fowler displayed remarkable accuracy, converting more than 90 per cent of their chances. Additionally, defenders Shamera Stirling and Kadie-Ann Dehaney created several turnovers and disrupted the Welsh attacking flow effectively.
\nFowler credited their success so far to the strength of the 12-player squad.
\n\u201cEveryone is going out on court and doing their job and that\u2019s what we need to for them to do, I\u2019m very pleased with that,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cFor tomorrow, I know South Africa is going to be coming hard at us. We just have to stick to our ground and play to the game plan.\u201d
\nWelsh goalkeeper Ella Powell-Davies said their aim was to disrupt the space of the Jamaicans as much as they could.
\n\u201cThey are world-class players and we wanted to put as much pressure on the feed as we could in the circle. And when we got the disruption it was key that we took possession of that ball.
\n\u201cTomorrow is Sri Lanka and it is a game that we want to go out there and meet all our performance goals. We want to have a full 60-minute performance and hopefully we can achieve that tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCORES
\nQ1: 23-11<\/p>\n

Q2: 44-23 (21-12)<\/p>\n

Q3: 58-29 (14-6)<\/p>\n

Q4: 75-40 (17-11)<\/p>\n

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Shamera Sterling (Jamaica)<\/p>\n

Gina Crampton:<\/i><\/b> Gina Crampton of New Zealand during the Netball World Cup 2023, Pool D match between New Zealand and Uganda at Cape Town International Convention Centre Court 1 on July 29, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman\/Gallo Images\/Netball World Cup 2023)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ZIMBABWE 48 – 52 FIJI Both Zimbabwe and Fiji were hungry for their first wins of the tournament after suffering opening day losses at the Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,118],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-netball","tag-netball-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1149"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1151,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions\/1151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}