The Army’s netballers were given a taste of life on the international stage as they locked horns with Malawi at Loughborough University.
Ranked seventh in the world, the tourists showed their class as they cruised to a 98-24 victory as part of their preparations for the Vitality Nations Netball Cup, in which they faced England, South Africa and Uganda.
For the Reds, the fixture served as an elite-level workout as they stepped up preparations for this month’s Inter-Services campaign – in which they’ll be striving for a sixth successive title win.
“It was a great opportunity,” skipper SSgt Ellie Nawele (AGC (SPS)) told SoldierSport. “We knew we would not get the win, but it was a chance to showcase what we have been doing in training as we move towards the Inter-Services.
“The girls were a bit nervous beforehand but looking back we were grateful to play against such talented opposition.
“No other team said yes to this, so we tried to go out and play our own game.
“The biggest difference is the pace of their play – everything is so fast. We had been working on our defensive skills and tried to implement that on court, but as soon as they got a turnover it took seconds to get to goal and score. The consistency of their pace was ridiculous, and they were so clinical.”
Nawele singled out Sgt Dee Bolakoro (RE) for praise, with the Fijian international called up to represent her country at the PacificAus Sports Netball Series in the aftermath of the clash.
“She was in the defence to start and then moved to attack – she played her heart out,” the captain continued. “She knows what it takes to play at this level.
“We have learnt so much from this and will take that forward into our next training camp.”
