Australia takes World Youth Title, England See Bronze Slip away

Australia’s U21 netballers are the newly crowned World Youth Netball Champions, after defeating New Zealand 64-46 in emphatic style in this year’s Grand Final at the close of the competition held in the Cook Islands. Australia’s young stars have now won four of the six World Youth Championships held.

The young Australian side started strongly, pulling away to an impressive 21-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to accurate shooting from Caitlin Bassett and Teagan Caldwell, drafted into the team after injuries incurred earlier in the tournament. Despite intense defensive pressure in the third quarter, which gave New Zealand renewed hope, Australia’s line up was simply too strong and too accurate and held on to take the title with something to spare.

Jamaica’s Young Sunshine Girls took the bronze medal after a thrilling 48-42 win over England. Level at 31 all midway through the third quarter, it looked to be a game going “to the wire”, but an injury to English shooter Jo Harten in the last period of the game, and superb work by Jamaica’s Sasha-Gay Lynch in defence turned the impetus of the game in the island side’s favour, as they held on to take third place.

Malawi once again impressed with a 61-48 win over host nation the Cook Islands to take fifth place. Led by the tournament’s top scorer Mwayi Kumwenda, the Malawian side also put on the best post-match display of dancing and singing, in which they were soon joined by the ball girls and the opposition!

In the day’s closest finish, South Africa held off a last quarter surge from Northern Ireland to take seventh place 43-41.

The final list of placings for the competition (with positions from 2005 in brackets) is:

1. Australia (3)

2. New Zealand (1)

3. Jamaica (4)

4. England (2)

5. Malawi (-)

6. Cook Islands (10)

7. South Africa (5)

8. Northern Ireland (6)

9. Fiji (13)

10. Trinidad & Tobago (8)