By Sarah Nealon
Former Silver Fern Tania Nicholson was surprised to be chosen for the latest netball series - she reckons she has cost New Zealand netball more money than any other player.
The 27-year-old shooter will line up in the Northern side against England in the new Star Series tonight. It has been three years since her brief stint in the New Zealand side, so she was, she said, "pretty stoked" to have been selected for this internal tour.
"I thought I might have been written off," she said. "When I was a Silver Fern in 1996, I had a couple of bad injuries. I sprained my ankles and hurt my neck. I had to sit some games out and I lost confidence."
But it should not have been a surprise because she was the top shooter of the Coca-Cola Cup, playing for the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
"I've been in every squad possible," said Nicholson. "I can't remember every one of them, but I've played for the Silver Ferns, under-21 team, under-14 team and probably cost Netball New Zealand more money than any other player."
Although having been involved with the sport since she was nine, Nicholson said she was still extremely passionate about it and would like to make the New Zealand side again.
But when she was 19, Nicholson did her OE and took a break from netball.
"I fell in love, went to London and bluffed my way into an accounting job," she said. "I drank a lot and didn't do any exercise. Mum used to send me newspaper articles about netball which made me realise how much I loved the game."
But it is not only netball that Nicholson loves. The towering shooter has played Chelsea Cup tennis and is keen to play beach volleyball.
Nicholson, who is now a teacher at Kelston Girls' High, said that even though the Northern side had not played together before, she was familiar with the on-court style of several team members, having played alongside Jenny-May Coffin, Lorna Suafoa and Linda Vagana at various times in her netball career.
Netball: Nicholson just keeps on keeping on
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