NZ U-21s into World Netball Youth Cup final
- Dave Worsley
- Sep 27
- 2 min read
The New Zealand Under-21 team have secured their place in the Netball World Youth Cup 2025 final after overcoming a gritty England 51-49 in Gibraltar.
Defending champions New Zealand will meet Australia at 6am on Monday (NZ time) to decide the winner of the ninth edition of the World Youth Cup, both teams having won the title four times each previously.
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Challenged all the way, New Zealand held the advantage hroughout the game but almost looked panicked in the last quarter as a late-charging England closed to within two.
New Zealand remained with the same playing seven throughout while England made numerous changes in a bid to unsettle their opponents and break the momentum.
With key shooting target Amelia Walmsley being well marked under the hoop by Tomi Wilson, the New Zealanders took a little time to find their rhythm in a goal-for-goal stand-off during the opening quarter.
Small errors continued to plague both teams but continued strong defence from Serina Daunakamakama (centre), Kaiya Kepa (wing defence), Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa and Charlotte Manley (goalkeeper) gave New Zealand the opportunity to gain strong finishing momentum.
England were unable to take their similar advantages, leaving New Zealand to edge out to a slim 12-10 lead at the first break.
The Walmsley-Williams battle continued on the resumption, both having their moments of success before New Zealand pushed further ahead through the excellent connection between wing attack Taiana Day and Walmsley.
A strong run pushed New Zealand out to a seven-goal lead and forcing England to make changes in a bid to counter the breakaway. It paid off with England scoring the last four of the quarter to close the gap.
Winning the small moments, New Zealand doubled their lead to four goals when a similar scoreline to the first quarter left the women in black with a 24-20 lead at the main break.
New Zealand goal attack Sarah Guiney stepped up to play a strong hand in a tightly contested third stanza. Drawing the attention away from the heavily-marked Walmsley, Guiney’s expert positioning and accuracy ensured the defending champions kept the scoreboard ticking over.
At the other end, the in-circle pairing of Munro-Nonoa and Manley were instrumental in unsettling the England shooters. England threatened to reel the New Zealanders in on several occasions but were unable to sustain their momentum consistently.
Constant full-team hustle and contesting kept New Zealand with their noses in front when leading 39-34 at the last turn.
It proved too far for England who could not break New Zealand’s resolve.
Full of confidence, the New Zealanders through-court transition was quick and accurate, the shooters held sway under the hoop and the defensive squeeze helped forge a 10-goal buffer down the home stretch.
On the back of a strong fightback, England sniffed a late chance to close the gap to two but in the end ran out of time in a keenly-fought contest.
