Wales U17 Finish 5th at England’s Netball Performance League Tournament.

Wales’ international U17 team finished 5^th at England Netball’s Performance League [NPL] over the August Bank Holiday, beating 7 of England’s best teams to reach their finishing position. 

Following a successful season with a silver medal finish at the 2017 Netball Europe U17 Championships, the young Welsh team are delighted with their impressive performance at the NPL.

Wales were invited to the annual competition run by England Netball, and finished 3^rd in their group behind Manchester Thunder and Yorkshire Netball, but beat Surrey Storm and South Tigers and drew with Team Bath.  Wales faced Wasps Netball before facing Team Bath once more to establish either a 5^th or 6^th finishing position. 

Head Coach Bev Powell said:

“This was an amazing opportunity to showcase our U17 team’s talent against the best teams in England.  They were highly contested games with small margins between winning and losing.

“The whole Management team are so proud and impressed by this young team – they had so much fight, determination and pride.  They represented Welsh Netball beautifully.”

Spectators witnessed an intense 5^th-6^th playoff match in which Wales trailed behind Team Bath for the first 36 minutes, but grit and determination saw them battle hard throughout to score four unanswered goals in the final nail-biting four minutes to draw level.  Wales pushed on and stole a satisfying 29-26 win against Team Bath. 

Head of Performance Rosie Pretorius said:

“This fantastic result is testament to all the hard work that our U17 squad have dedicated throughout the season. What a way to finish what has already been a tremendous year of netball, and both the players and management team deserve every credit.

“But of course, this would not have been possible without the great support of our sponsors – we thank them for being with us every step of the way and look forward to working with them in the future.”

Wales U17 full results:
Manchester Thunder v Wales: 31-26
Surrey Storm v Wales: 25-34
Yorkshire Netball v Wales: 33-30
Team Bath v Wales: 28-28
Team South Tigers v Wales: 23-35

Wales’ U17 squad at NPL:

Gwenno Davies (Captain), Milly Watts (Vice-Captain), Macey Lane, Becca Hughes, Nikita Harris, Rhian Evans, Catrin Hughes, Caris Morgan, Emily Davies, Megan Gareh, Ellie Begley, Sapphira Fisher.

A big thank you to the following sponsors:

Gallery Loft Conversions, Glamorgan Telecom, Redrow Homes Ltd, Gittins McDonald Solicitors, M & P Enterprises, Edwards Coaches, Push Beyond, Mainetti UK Ltd, Bridgend College, Allchurch & Co.

ENDS