Roses face World Cup nemesis of previous two tournaments in last four, while South Africa will take on 14-time champions Australia
Friday 19 July 2019 17:57, UK
England set up a Netball World Cup semi-final against New Zealand after a 58-47 win over South Africa in front of a frenzied home crowd on Thursday night.
The Roses maintained their perfect record this week at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, recording a sixth successive victory thanks to the brilliance of Jo Harten and Helen Housby whose shooting partnership was again inspired.
England's win over Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday had secured their place in the last four but their target has always been the final, and Thursday's results mapped out their path to a first World Cup gold.
And on Saturday, less than a week on from an England team beating a New Zealand side to lift a trophy in this country, the two nations will meet again with a place in the final on the line.
The Silver Ferns ended the Roses' World Cup hopes in 2015 and 2011 with semi-final victories, but earlier in the day the Kiwis suffered their first defeat of the week as they were beaten 50-49 in an epic contest against Australia.
For the sixth time in 16 World Cup meetings, the Trans-Tasman rivalry was settled by a solitary goal - or more specifically, Maria Folau's last-second miss that would have levelled the scores in a game that saw defences prevail.
But the evening focus was on Tracey Neville and the Roses as they came through their second serious test and after a win over Jamaica to start the second preliminary phase, they finished with another victory against the world's no 5 ranked nation to pass it again with flying colours.
The little to separate the teams early on, England's smothering defence and playmakers Geva Mentor and Serena Guthrie forced a couple of turnovers in quick succession.
With Harten and Housby near flawless and Proteas captain Bongi Msomi withdrawn through injury, the Roses took full advantage - Harten sending the partisan arena crowd wild with a sensational long-range strike on the buzzer.
Jade Clarke's classy turnover kept England on the front foot and the Roses began to showcase their skills, with Guthrie again to the fore as they moved 13 in front midway through the second quarter.
A double miss from South Africa was the final play of the half and seemed to sum up their situation as England led by 11 at half-time before an improved Proteas upped the ante early in the third quarter.
Searing defender Karla Pretorious eradicated a first half of contact calls as South Africa chipped away at England's lead but staring at their first quarter defeat of the week, the Roses again turned to their game-changing defence to avoid any concern, fishing strongly to retain their double-figure advantage.
Having started with her strongest possible team, Neville introduced Nat Haythornthwaite, Nat Panagarry, Fran Williams and Rachel Dunn from the bench as they looked to close out the contest and despite losing the final quarter, an 11-goal win was just reward for an impressive display.
England now know they will most likely have to beat both of their great netballing rivals if they are to claim the glory on Sunday, not that Neville has been expecting anything less.
South Africa will face Australia on Saturday at 11am, while the Roses will aim for a first-ever World Cup final against New Zealand at 3pm.
One note of caution amongst the Roses optimism - they have won just one of their 27 World Cup contests against Australia and New Zealand. Yet this is a very different England.
Watch every match of the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 live on Sky Sports. Coverage of the Netball World Cup continues on Sky Sports Netball right through until the final on Sunday July 21.
