Netball: Fijian netballer tosses selectors a new teaser

By RICHARD BOOCK

Just when the row over Irene van Dyk's eligibility seemed ready to subside, another has blown up over the status of Fijian netball captain Valimaina Davu.

According to reports in yesterday's Fiji Times, the outstanding Canterbury Flames goal-keep was eligible, available and considered for selection in the Silver Ferns' squad to play Australia, before being passed over by the New Zealand selectors.

The 23-year-old Davu, the star performer of the Flames' march into the Coca Cola Cup play-offs, is scheduled to play for both a world selection and a Pasifika team against New Zealand in the upcoming Fisher and Paykel series.

She was not mentioned in dispatches when the Silver Ferns squad was announced yesterday, but Netball New Zealand chief executive Shelley McMeeken confirmed that the 1.90m-tall defender was considered for selection.

"She's playing very well," said McMeeken. "And there's a chance for everyone if they're playing well. Valimaina was a very valuable player in the Coca Cola Cup, but I hasten to add that we do have some very good defenders in New Zealand."

Davu reportedly told the Times she was now available for New Zealand, and warned that the attempted coup by George Speight would badly affect Fijian netballers hoping to establish international careers.

"My ultimate dream is to play for the Silver Ferns," she said. "I'd like that. If I'm approached I'm available."

As it happened, the New Zealand selectors apparently preferred the credentials of Bernice Mene and Linda Vagana, although there is a suggestion - however mischievous - that they may have baulked at the idea of including a second overseas-sourced player.

Van Dyk, who captained South Africa at last year's world championships when Davu was leading Fiji, was named in the New Zealand squad to play Australia yesterday.

Under the present international rule, the only restriction on transferring players is that they cannot play for more than one country in the same calendar year.