Wales’ netball captain receives 75th cap.

Wales Senior Netball team captain, Suzy
Drane, has received her 75^th senior Welsh cap this week.  The twenty-nine year old represented her
country for the 75^th time at the Netball Europe Open Championships
last weekend in Newcastle.

“It’s a huge mile-stone.  I’m pleased and ecstatic that I’ve made it
this far, but I still get the exact same feeling as when I received my first
cap, my 30^th cap and my 74^th,” said Suzy, who’s
originally from north Wales but now lives in St Mellons, Cardiff.  

Suzy and her team-mates recently earned a
silver medal at the Netball Europe Open Championships, defeating Scotland and
Ireland, and losing to England in the final match for the gold medal.

“We have more to work on and we feel we
have more to give,” reflects Suzy, “we have more in the tank. We are hungry to
improve,” says Suzy, “it has put us in good stead for the South Africa test
series.”

As well as being Captain for the Welsh
team, Suzy lectures in Sport Development and Performance Sport at Cardiff
Metropolitan University.  She also plays
for the Celtic Dragons in the Vitality Superleage.   The
inspirational athlete has played for Wales at two Commonwealth Games, two World
Cup competitions, and at several European Championships.  However, Suzy says she doesn’t count the
caps, and focuses on each individual game:

“Playing for your country can’t ever be
replicated, but it’s not about counting caps.
I’m still learning, and still contributing to the team.  So for as long as I can do that, I still want
to play – I’ll be here.”

The Wales Senior Netball team are all
hoping for a place on the tour to South Africa in June 13 – 20.  South Africa Netball Team are currently 5^th
in the International Netball Federation World rankings.   Suzy says she and the rest of the girls will
be working hard in order to be selected:

“People always assume that you can take
selection lightly, but it doesn’t matter who you are or how many caps you have
– you just don’t know until you see your name written down on paper.”

Suzy
has played against South Africa before, but has never visited the country,
“I’ve played on four continents, and hoping for a fifth.”

 Look
out for the Wales Senior and Under 21 squad announcement on the Welsh Netball
website soon.