Quad Series 2023: England beat South Africa to finish third as Jade Clarke makes 200th appearance | Netball News
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England beat South Africa to finish third in the 2023 Quad Series ahead of the upcoming Netball World Cup in Cape Town later this year; New Zealand face Australia in Quad Series final
Last Updated: 25/01/23 4:40pm
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Jade Clarke celebrates her 200th cap as England win semi final at the quad series; the second player ever to reach this number.
England finished their Quad Series campaign on a high as they defeated South Africa 49-42 on Jade Clarke’s landmark 200th appearance for the Roses.
Funmi Fadoju, who was not born when Clarke made her debut in 2003, starred as Player of the Match to preview a starring role when England return to Cape Town for the Netball World Cup later this year.
Jess Thirlby’s changes again moved into the spotlight as a rotation of her initial front seven in the second quarter saw England combat a rhythm-building Proteas attack and build a 25-23 lead heading into the third.
Clarke and Helen Housby returned to the court in the third before Fadoju produced a string of crucial turnovers to dent South Africa’s momentum as the teams refused to be split at 11-11 ahead of the final 15 minutes.
The return of Layla Guscoth helped solidify the Roses defensively in the final quarter while Eleanor Cardwell rejoined the attack to assist Housby in establishing a five-goal lead for her side.
Fadoju proceeded to blunt South Africa’s response with two superb takes in the defensive third before England build on their lead inside the five minute mark, Thirlby’s side eventually seeing out the win buy a seven-point margin.
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Fumi Fudoju reflects on England’s win over South Africa in the Quad Series semi final and praises teammate Jade Clarke on her 200th cap for England.
« I’m really proud we got the win today, it was really important for us and we wanted to be able to finish this campaign with a win playing the Roses style and Roses game, » said England captain Natalie Metcalf.
« We spoke about the moments of the game, we’ve gone up in games and let teams back in, it happened again today but we spoke about it, we named it and we were saying ‘we want to keep building this lead, we want to win’ and having that winning mindset so for us it’s about being able to execute and perform under pressure. »
New Zealand meet Australia in the Quad Series final after beating England on Tuesday night.
