They’re on our shores – again.
For as long as anyone in Australia can remember, England have been our arch nemesis, with all of us housing a built-in burning desire to get one over the people of the United Kingdom.
The netball community is no different, with a burgeoning rivalry between two teams fighting for silverware beginning to build momentum in recent years.
The rivalry between the Origin Australian Diamonds and England Roses has always been bubbling away under the surface, but came to a head in 2018 when England defeated the Diamonds in front of our home crowd at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, coming from two goals down at three quarter time to win gold by one goal, 52-51.
To make matters even worse, it was the first time Australia had lost in a major netball tournament to England.
To be fair, in 2018 England were a netball powerhouse on the rise.
The Roses defeated the Diamonds at the 2018 Commonwealth Games by a single goal.The Roses program in the UK was evolving year on year and many of their players were developing in the Suncorp Super Netball League (Jo Harten, Helen Housby, Geva Mentor etc.) and they were getting regular games against the other top netball nations thanks to the Quad Series, whilst being coached by the well-respected Tracey Neville.
Fast forward to 2022 and the tables turned, with England hosting the Commonwealth Games with a Diamonds squad arriving, hellbent on reclaiming gold.
As luck would have it, the two teams met in the semi-final, with the Diamonds enacting revenge on the hosts, cruising to a nine-goal victory, 60-51, on route to yet another gold.
The two nations have met regularly throughout 2022 already, playing twice across the 2022 Quad Series in England, with a tight contest across their matches that saw a Diamonds win and a draw. Notably the Diamonds claimed the Quad Series trophy, besting the Roses, New Zealand and South Africa.
Historically, England have struggled to land a blow against the Diamonds, with Australia victorious in 71 of the 79 meetings between the two nations to date.
However, the modern-day England cannot be underestimated with the likes of Geva Mentor, Jo Harten, Helen Housby, Layla Guscoth, Jade Clarke, Natalie Metcalf and Beth Cobden set to don the Roses dress in the upcoming test matches.
The Diamonds won their Commonwealth Games clash in Birmingham.Although these two nations (and teams) are so intwined within each other’s history, it feels like the rivalry between the Origin Diamonds and England Roses is just beginning.
You can watch the next chapter unfold live on Kayo Freebies and Foxtel from 26 October.
