Road to the final for the Diamonds
Australia began their tournament in Group A with the likes of Tonga, Zimbabwe, and Fiji.
They went 3-0 in the first group stage easily dispatching of each of those opponents by 56 points or more.
Advancing to Group F of the winners’ stage, Australia dominated Malawi and Scotland to set up a final group stage match against England to determine who would win the group.
The two teams battled hard and for the first time in history the Diamonds lost to the Roses in a World Cup match leaving them as runners-up in the group.
This had bettors who had backed Australia worried, but they’re futures tickets at betting apps were still safe.
This result set up a semi-final matchup with Group G winners Jamaica for Australia. The match was tightly contested as the two teams went back and forth seeing the game go into its final five minutes tied at 50.
Diamonds’ Courtney Bruce was able to secure a pivotal interception to give the Aussies the advantage as they would go on to win 57-54 to advance to the final.
England faced New Zealand in their semi-final and pulled away from a tied game in the final quarter to win 46-40.
Australia Dominates England in the Final
The final was full of storylines heading in.
Of course, for the Diamonds it was a chance to avenge their first ever loss to England at a World Cup. Along with that, it was England’s first time being in a Netball World Cup final while Australia have never missed the tournament’s final match.
Australia was also looking to reclaim the gold medal that they lost four years ago to New Zealand.
The match began as one would have expected being played very tightly by both teams’ defensive lines. The Diamonds were able to jump out to an early three-point lead which was enough to prompt Roses coach Jess Thirlby substitute Fran Williams in the game.
Williams proved to be a difference maker disrupting Australia’s attack and helping England back to level terms.
At the end of the first quarter the two teams were tied at 13.
Player of the tournament Helen Housby got the second quarter started by putting England ahead, but the Diamonds flexed their muscles from that point forward.
The Diamonds were consistently deflecting balls and gained a couple interceptions as by the end of the quarter they found themselves with a 27-23 lead. Australia had led by six at halftime of their group stage match however, so the job was certainly nowhere near finished.
The third quarter is when the Aussies really started to fire on all cylinders.
The Diamond defenders were all over the likes of Housby and Cardwell making life difficult for the two stars. After scoring two quick goals, the Australian lead was six. Sarah Klau was brought on for Australia and immediately made her presence felt with a tip preventing the Roses from cutting into that lead.
The Australian offense was unstoppable as they won the quarter 19-13 to lead by ten going into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same high-quality play form the Aussies as England seemed to be out of countermoves.
Interceptions and stolen passes along with Sophie Garbin and Finals MVP Kiera Austin finding the net consistently led the Diamonds to a 16-point 61-45 win.
The margin was Australia’s largest in a Netball World Cup final since 1995 as they have reclaimed the status of world champions.
