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Australia were crowned the winners of the Netball World Cup for a 12th time on Sunday (6 August) after a nail biting match in Cape Town.
England made history by making it to the final, facing champion team Australia. Despite it being the Roses’ first World Cup final, they managed to beat Australia once during the group stage of the tournament.
Australia have now claimed victory 12 times, and there has never been a World Cup final without them – tough stats for England to contend with but the Roses were strong and determined throughout the game.
The first quarter saw tension and excitement as both teams were neck and neck, with the score board quickly racking up with Australia just edging it and managing to hold onto a slight lead – but the Roses were hot on their tail, effectively playing catch up. As the first quarter came to a close, England managed to equalise and the score was 13 – 13.
The second quarter kicked off with a bang and was neck and neck, with both teams vying for the win. Australia managed to edge victory, maintaining a two goal lead for the majority. As it came to a close though, the Roses briefly closed the gap with the Diamonds, but went into half time on the backfoot with a score of 23 – 27 to Australia.
The penultimate quarter saw the Diamonds hold onto their lead, securing more and more goals to widen the gap between the teams' scores. They enjoyed a seven goal lead for the majority of the game's third instalment, before managing to snag a 10 goal advantage. The quarter concluded with a score of 36 – 46 to Australia.
The final quarter saw extra time added, but it wasn't enough for England to scoop the win. The Diamonds' goals kept on coming, with the champions claiming victory for a 12th time with a final score of 61 to England's 45.
Ahead of the event, England were viewed as the underdogs when compared to the three other big nations competing, which included Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. The team quickly thwarted expectations though and only lost one quarter throughout the entire tournament.
Ahead of the match, Tracey Neville, who coached England to Commonwealth Games glory in 2018, praised experienced players and their necessary skill set which helped the team at important moments.
Before the final match, she told Sky Sports News : "When you say about making history and breaking glass ceilings, today is a momentous occasion for England Netball.
"We have built momentum and throughout this tournament they have built and followed the process. They have really earned where they have got to today. I am so proud of Jess Thirlby and all the staff who have invested in this team to get to this point."
She added: “You can't get away from the stalwarts in the team such as Helen Housby, Eleanor Cardwell, Geva Mentor and Layla Guscoth. Then your match winners like your Funmi Fadoju and Fran Williams.
"You say you build a team around your foundations and I genuinely think that's what's happened here. Those experienced players have come back from all over the world and have been magic through this tournament."
The England team have still done their country proud, with today's final one for the history books.
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