Wales Netball
July 15, 2019
Wales have finished off their 2019 Summer Tests ins style, with four victories in a row! After a tough start to their summer international campaign against South Africa, Wales had the no small feat of facing Malawi and Trinidad & Tobago, two nations ranked higher than Wales in the INF World Rankings!
On Saturday 6 July, Wales took on Malawi and the Queens soon demonstrated their ability on court, cantering to a 6-goal lead at the break. However, Wales soon hit back and were level at half-time. It was the first time S4C had ever televised live international netball, and fans watching were in for a treat as Wales pulled-off a clutch display to take the win in the final quarter.
As if victory against the Queens wasn’t enough, the following day Wales had to face the Calypso Girls, who just the day before had to settle for a draw in an thriller against Northern Ireland. This time, it was Wales who led early, but Trinidad & Tobago managed to pull it back with 15 minutes to spare. However, buoyed by the home crowd, Cymru were able to make smart changes and apply pressure where needed to take an impressive win.
A day away from the court was well needed, but Wales soon had to be back in action, this time against Grenada. The Spice Girls really made Wales scrap for it in the first test as they made good use of shooter Lottysha ‘Timmy’ Cato’s height in the circle. However, Wales demonstrated their tactical adaptability once again to deny the visitors from the Caribbean and bring their tally to four wins from six in July.
Following the Wales v Trinidad & Tobago match, there was a presentation of the NPTC Group Player of the Series award for the games between Wales, Malawi and Trinidad & Tobago. With two victories, the player would inevitably be Welsh and it went to Severn Stars’ Georgia Rowe for a dominant display of shooting against both teams.
Scores:
Northern Ireland 49 Trinidad & Tobago 49
Wales 52 Malawi 47
Northern Ireland 37 Malawi 53
Wales 72 Trinidad & Tobago 64
Trinidad & Tobago 52 Malawi 53
Grenada 58 UK Armed Forces 36
Wales 72 Grenada 53
Wales 81 Grenada 53
