England's netball team, the Roses, endured a significant setback in their Commonwealth Games campaign, falling to a comprehensive 66-47 defeat against defending champions Australia. The loss, which took place at The Hydro in Glasgow, saw England captain Fran Williams acknowledge her side was "far from our best" and that the performance was not what they had aimed for.
The Roses had opened their tournament with a commanding 83-34 victory over Northern Ireland on Saturday. However, the intensity of the Australian Diamonds proved too much on Sunday. Australia established an early lead, finishing the first quarter 18-11 ahead, and continued to extend their advantage throughout the match, reaching 56-35 by the end of the third quarter.
Australia's Sophie Garbin was a standout performer, netting an impressive 41 goals from 42 attempts. For England, Olivia Tchine was the highest scorer, converting 23 of her 25 shots. Williams highlighted the team's struggle with the opposition's physicality, stating, "We didn't cope well with their physicality. It's really tough when a game blows out like that."
The English squad for this tournament is notably less experienced compared to previous campaigns. Only two players, Eleanor Cardwell and Imogen Allison, have prior Commonwealth Games experience. This is partly due to injuries to key gold medallists from 2018, Helen Housby and Natalie Metcalf, with Metcalf withdrawing recently due to a calf injury. Furthermore, the team is under interim charge, with Anna Stembridge, who previously led the team from 2011 to 2015, stepping in after Jess Thirlby resigned for family reasons in March.
England, who famously secured a gold medal in 2018, were unable to reach the podium at the Birmingham 2022 Games. The team will now look to regroup quickly as they prepare for their next Pool A fixture against Malawi, scheduled for Monday afternoon at 14:00 BST.
In other netball action on Sunday, Scotland secured their first win in Pool B, overcoming Wales with a 56-47 victory.