Pressure on Diamonds for World Cup as New Zealand discover a gem in Grace Nweke

An increasingly self-assured Australia took out the Quad Series in Cape Town with victory over New Zealand in the final. But the tournament did more than re-confirm the Diamonds’ world No 1 status. Here’s what we learned with the 2023 World Cup in South Africa looming.

It’s Grace Nweke’s world and we’re living in it

Grace Nweke’s future biography will detail how she “arrived” at the 2023 Quad Series.

The 20-year-old has been in the Silver Ferns set-up since 2021 and played a critical role in their Commonwealth bronze last year, but it was in Cape Town this week where she made the goal shooter bib her own. And it appears to be hers for as long as she wants it.

Related: Steph Wood rediscovers sparkle as Diamonds beat New Zealand in Quad Series

Dame Noeline Taurua played the 193cm shooter in every minute of the four-game series and she shot a mammoth 166 from 180 at 92%, including 38/44 in the gold medal match.

Nweke was MVP in the Ferns’ win over South Africa in the preliminary final round and was named player and shooter of the tournament.

With a Jhaniele Fowler-esque physique and temperament, Nweke is dominant in a way that’s hard to combat. Strong, accurate in close and not afraid of the tough stuff, she’s a shooter a coach would design.

Former Kiwi captain Anna Stanley says Nweke could become a legend, rivalling South African-born shooter Irene van Dyk, who played 72 Tests for the Proteas before moving to New Zealand and playing 145 more in black, making her one of the most capped international players ever.

An old pressure returns for Diamonds

As reigning Commonwealth Games, Constellation Cup and England series champions, Australia simply had to win the Quad Series. The prize for the Diamonds? The expectation and pressure of yet more success – more specifically, winning the World Cup in Cape Town later this year.

If they didn’t already have it, Stacey Marinkovich’s team now carries the mantle of outright World Cup favouritism, given their dominance and growing consistency.

The Diamonds, playing without arguably the best player in the world Gretel Bueta and injured defender Jo Weston, won from in front and came from behind, using fast ball-speed in attack, collective force in defence and patience and grind when required. When challenged they responded.

Marinkovich, who inherited a team in 2020 with virtually no trophies in the cabinet, wanted to raise the bar in the series, acknowledging that 2022 form would not make the cut in 2023. And she was right, with New Zealand and South Africa stepping it up, while England has continued to slip.

The performances of Liz Watson, Steph Wood, Cara Koenen, Courtney Bruce, Sarah Klau and Paige Hadley – who surely booked their places on the plane back to Cape Town in July – were stand-outs. Now the coach just has to work out the other six names.

One-win Roses have thorny issues to address

A slow-motion car crash.

That was England’s Quad, as quiet pre-tournament worries about coach Jess Thirlby’s approach exploded into a public crisis for England Netball less than 190 days out from the World Cup … despite the side winning bronze.

The Roses lost to Australia and New Zealand, by six and 10, and only managed a 46-all draw against South Africa in the preliminaries before this morning’s consolation final, which saw them hold off a brave Proteas outfit 49-42 in Jade Clarke’s 200th Test.

Fans are calling for Thirlby to be sacked and the governing body to be more transparent about the team’s approach after the players seemingly lost faith in Thirlby in Cape Town, some unable to even look her in the eye post-match.

There’s questions about why she took shooter Jo Harten, who has been carrying an injury since mid-2022, only to send her home just after it began and her selection strategy and in-game decision-making such as taking defender Funmi Fadoju off in the game against Australia when she was dominating. And many more besides.

Thirlby, already under pressure given England didn’t medal at the Commonwealth Games last year, has struggled to blend the experience at her disposal with exciting emerging talent and to get her players to execute her game plan for 60 minutes.

And now England Netball has a crash scene to clean up.

‘Plum’ and Pretorius have put Proteas back on track

Two women who’ve come to define modern South African netball – coaching icon Norma Plummer and goal defender Karla Pretorius – returned for the Quad. And what a homecoming it was.

The prodigal Proteas helped put the world #5 side back on track before the World Cup, after a period of underachievement which included a shock loss to Uganda at last year’s Commonwealth Games. The side put in a solid showing across the tournament, despite losing the bronze medal play-off to England.

Pretorius, back after a year out to have a baby, and 78-year-old “Plum”, who late last year replaced Dorette Badenhorst, the coach who succeeded her after the 2019 World Cup, have injected much-needed professionalism and palpable confidence.

Despite losing to New Zealand and Australia, a 46-all draw and a seven-goal loss to England in the medal play-off is a good return and will instill hope ahead of the Cup.

As is her way, Plummer kept her expectations high and her coaching style pragmatic, asking live on-air earlier this week if anyone could find her “a 6’ 8” defender” to combat Grace Nweke, “that’d be great”.

Pretorius delivered the Quad’s single-best moment of individual brilliance, when she somehow won possession while 2-on-1 in the Roses’ goal circle in the dying moments of their pool match, after her keeper Phumza Maweni was sent off.