Taurua searching for answers after shock Silver Ferns loss

After their embarrassing loss to an under-strength England side the Silver Ferns have now lost their last four Tests and coach Dame Noeline Taurua says she doesn't have a magic bullet.

The England Roses beat the Silver Ferns 55-54 in Christchurch in Test one of the three test Taini Jamison series yesterday, turning all the pre-series predictions upside down.

Netball New Zealand had criticised its England counterparts when it was revealed the team for the three-Test series, included no players from their World Cup squad.

NNZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie slammed the move as "disrespectful" and demanded an explanation.

After finishing fourth at the Netball World Cup, the Silver Ferns wanted to show the New Zealand public what they could do.

Instead a side with just 56 Test caps outplayed the Silver Ferns, who boast 412 Test caps and Dame Noeline said "it stings".

"Soft errors that are costing us...missed connection between our feeders at times into the circle.

"I don't think defensively we got enough ball ...so we've really got to look at ourselves see what we can do to add more dominance there. I thought also their speed, we were just one step behind on everything."

The most damage came in the second quarter, which England won by seven goals.

Dame Noeline also lamented the lack of urgency from her side, which only really surfaced in a final quarter surge.

The one beacon was the outstanding performance of captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio who finished with 39 goals at 95 percent accuracy, while also shooting from long range.

After starting in her usual position at goal attack, Ekenasio went back to goal shoot after half time, with Maia Wilson managing just nine goals in the first half.

With New Zealand's starting goal shoot Grace Nweke still on the comeback from injury, the Silver Ferns coach said she didn't have a magic bullet.

"This is what we've got so I can't pull anything else out ...and they are very proud about representing the Silver Ferns. There's still that level of learning that we've got to be able to do, that ruthlessness, that competitive edge, that hardness that we just don't have at the moment.

"This is the best that we have in New Zealand so we've got to support them and we know we'll take it on the chin and we've got to keep going.

"I don't want to dump on our lot because we've got to be confident going out there and we've got to know that the good times and the not good times is part of being a high performance athlete and a coach as well."

Newbie Amelia Walmsley was the only player who didn't get out on court, despite the shooting end needing an injection and relying too heavily on Ekenasio.

The Silver Ferns captain said the loss was devastating.

"We wanted to put a stake in the ground on how we wanted to play ...we just let ourselves down ...but I think sometimes individually we have to be able to stand up and be able to do our job even when it's hard," Ekenasio said.

Dame Noeline acknowledged the impressive performance of the Roses.

"We can wallow about us but I think also we've got to give credit to England, showed they've been together for six or eight weeks in a centralised programme so kudos," Dame Noeline said.

But she believes New Zealand can turn things around for the second Test on Wednesday.

"Mentally we've got to go back ... I feel there's areas that we will talk about but once again we've got to be able to back that up with action."

No gloating from England

Despite most people writing off the Roses, former Silver Fern Liana Leota, who is head coach for the series, said the win was satisfying because of the hard work her players put in.

"I don't think it tastes sweet, I think it's just the hard work that we've put in behind the scenes ...we put the girls through the wringer and we pushed them really hard so for me it's a celebration of what they've done."

Leota was most pleased with the way her side cherished possession and said they played with no pressure, which worked well for them.

"I wanted these girls to play with freedom I didn't want them to look at the scoreboard ...just playing their natural, our Roses way."

Leota said having a centralised programme for eight weeks was crucial for preparing her side for the series and the New Zealand style.

"That just shows what we're teaching them, what we're providing them back at home is working."

And she wants to get more of her rookies out on court for the remaining two Tests.

"Give them the opportunity against that New Zealand style because they only see it on TV. In trainings we are trying to implement what New Zealand do but it wasn't until today that they actually felt it."

England debutant Sasha Glasgow had a sensational debut playing at goal shoot and picking up the MVP honours.

The Australian based player is one of the most promising shooters in Australia's Super Netball league (SSN) but is eligible for the Roses through her English heritage.

The 25-year-old year handled the New Zealand style of defence, which she would not have been familiar with, like a pro.

Co-captain Halimat Adio, who got her first Test cap, said it was an emotional win after the group worked hard in camp.

Adio, who was a travelling reserve at the Netball World Cup, said they didn't take any notice of the reaction in New Zealand to a supposedly under-strength team.

"That's background noise and we weren't really too bothered about what people had to say ...the noise didn't affect us in any way."

- RNZ