Netball World Cup: England play Scotland in opening game
Saturday 8 August 2015 14:34, UK
England open up their 2015 Netball World Cup campaign against Scotland in a Pool B clash on Friday morning, live on Sky channels and streamed online.
Scotland are ranked 11th in the world and last met third-best team England in an official capacity at this year’s Netball Europe Open, when the English Roses recorded a 60-16 victory.
Looking ahead to the match, England captain Geva Mentor said “I think it’s important for us to set the tone, not only for the other teams that are out there but for ourselves, to make sure we cement and really work on this campaign going forward.
“There are obviously a lot of nerves, it’s a World Cup. It’s really important for us and everyone has got the belief.
“For us, this game is about getting what we want out of it. Making sure we are nice and consistent, making sure we have fun out there and putting out a performance that we want to take all the way through the World Cup.”
Despite going into the match as overwhelming favourites, Mentor is well aware that no game on the biggest stage of them all is a walkover.
The Roses defender identified counterpart Fiona Themann as a Thistle who could well cause England problems, adding: “She is a very good defender and led the ANL (Australian National League) team Victorian Fury that won the league this year.
"I think she will be a very good addition to the Scottish side and will hopefully put our attack under some pressure."
The opening fixture of a World Cup has historically been a favourable one for England; in 2011 they saw off a dangerous Malawi side 65-33.
This is the first appearance at a World Cup for Scotland since 2007. On that occasion they finished the tournament in 14th place following five defeats and one win.
There are several ways in which you can watch the match on Sky Sports. It will be streamed for free online at www.skysports.com while also showing the match live on Sky Sports 3 HD and Sky One from 5:40am.
