Netball: Wales more determined than ever, says captain Suzy Drane

It's been an exciting four years for Wales.

After failing to qualify for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, tough-talking New Zealander Melissa Hyndman took over the coaching reins. Her ambition was to get the national side aligned with Superleague club Celtic Dragons and propel both to the top of the game. And, she did just that.

Hyndman was a catalyst for Wales' shift towards success, they moved from 19th to eighth in the world rankings, finished an impressive ninth at the World Netball Championships in 2011, and won gold at the European Open Netball Championships of 2013, while Superleague franchise Celtic Dragons reached the Grand Final in 2013.

But the growth under Hyndman came to an end in April when she was dismissed "following a robust and rigorous internal disciplinary procedure". Now, under former assistant Laura Williams, Wales are fully-focused on continuing their rise and thinking forward towards the Games in Glasgow where they'll show the world they're a force to be reckoned with.

We spoke to Wales captain Suzy Drane about how the squad are preparing, what life without the 'Fergie of netball' in charge is like and ask how far the team can go in this summer's competition...

Sky Netball: Suzy, you play alongside much of the Wales team at club level and you teach some of them at Cardiff Metropolitan University, do you get sick of the sight of each other?

Suzy:  We get to know each other so well that we know what makes each other tick. For example, we had a training session this morning at 6.45am and we know who the morning people are, but also who doesn't really want to be spoken to and just get on with it! That's something that we've developed through club level at Celtic Dragons, but we also play in local teams for the first part of the season - though we're only allowed two Dragons/national team players in each team. It's useful for us to play against each other. Last year our national goal defence Steph Williams was on the opposition, she intercepted a pass I made and turned to me, while holding the ball, and said 'you needed to look down court, remember we've been working on it!'

Sky Netball: what has it been like since Melissa Hyndman's departure?

Suzy: We've got a really good cohesiveness with the team. Our squad is very united, both management and players, and the situation has probably drawn us closer together. It’s made us more determined to put all the hard work we've been doing over the four years under Melissa and prior to that - let's not forget we haven't been in a position to go to the Commonwealth Games since Melbourne 2006 - to make it through all the challenges, that we describe as hurdles to get over rather than barriers to run in to. It's spurred us on even more.

Sky Netball: how important was Melissa Hyndman in the team’s recent success?

Suzy: The facts say it: we went from world ranking 19th to eighth position and that's one of the best performances by a Welsh coach. We now have to take that on and make sure Welsh netball goes even further. We've got a great belief that we can break in t