By Carly Baldwin, July 12, 2019: Hosts England ensured a winning start to the Vitality Netball World Cup Liverpool by overcoming a tough Ugandan side at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool this evening.
Tracey Neville’s Roses – looking to claim their first ever World Cup title dominant in the first and final quarters of the match against a physical Uganda side, ranked sixth in the world.
Uganda’s centre, Stella Oyella, sent off late on in the game for persistent infringements, as the home side ran out 64-32 winners in a match which also saw Jo Harten win her 100th cap.
Also in action this evening were Scotland, who set up tomorrow’s encounter against England by also registering an opening-day win, beating Samoa 53-35.
Meanwhile, Jamaica inflicted a comprehensive 85-29 defeat on Fiji, and South Africa beat Trinidad and Tobago 76-45.
That ensured a bittersweet day for Calypso Girls captain Rhonda John-Davis, who became the first player in World Cup history to appear at six different tournaments.
The first day of competition saw the curtain officially come up on the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019, with event partner Culture Liverpool showcasing some of the most iconic aspects of the host city to a global audience during the opening ceremony.
Earlier on in the day – during session 1 – Australia, New Zealand, Barbados and Zimbabwe all made winning starts.
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Tomorrow will see all nations play their second matches of the tournament, with Home Nation eyes likely to fix on England v Scotland in session 4.
Australia take on Zimbabwe and New Zealand play Barbados during session 3, which will also see Northern Ireland face Sri Lanka.
The full tournament schedule is available to view here.
About the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019
The Vitality Netball World Cup is the world’s most prestigious netball competition and takes place from 12-21 July 2019 at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool.
The tournament will feature the top 16 teams in the world, including the England Roses, at an exciting time of unprecedented growth for women’s sport and netball in the UK. —- Pictures: SWPix
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