Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maria Folau celebrate after winning the Netball World Cup. Photo / Getty
Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maria Folau celebrate after winning the Netball World Cup. Photo / Getty
The Silver Ferns' Netball World Cup win over Australia on Monday morning left many Kiwis shocked.
The same national side that returned home from last year's Commonwealth Games medalless for the first time in their history had just been crowned champions of the world.
Very few picked the Silver Fernsto even make the World Cup grand final and then to topple netball giants the Australian Diamonds was something else altogether.
With everything that was stacked against them, the Silver Ferns were able to defy the odds. Here are seven road blocks New Zealand overcame on their way to their World Cup title.
The Silver Ferns had just 15 months to turn things around following the disaster that was the Commonwealth Games.
And losing to Malawi during the April campaign highlighted how far off the pace the Ferns were.
Head coach Noeline Taurua, who has received much credit for the Ferns' dramatic comeback, was only appointed the top job in August, giving the ailing side less than 11 months to get things right.
Her changes came hard and fast and proved to finally pay off just in time.
The Silver Ferns were labelled as underdogs long before the start of this World Cup, with little success to boast from the past few years.
The Ferns' horror run of results in 2018 saw them fall to a world ranking of fourth.
Meanwhile, England were hot favourites having claimed gold at last year's Commonwealth Games and Australia were set to defend three back-to-back World Cup titles.
Lack of exposure to world-class competition
With Netball New Zealand's rules not allowing players to compete in overseas netball leagues such as the Super Netball competition – without special exemption at least – many of the Ferns had not gone up against the world's top players in a long time.
There were also the likes of Bailey Mes and Shannon Saunders who hadn't even played in the black dress since the Commonwealth Games, leaving a gap in their experience on the international stage.
Most Silver Ferns were left to battle it out against one another in the domestic ANZ Premiership competition to improve their game.
Meanwhile, Australia's Super Netball competition, hailed as one of the sport's best leagues in the world, had attracted plenty of top players from England, Jamaica and South Africa, giving them all the exposure and opportunity to play each other.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio celebrates the win over England. Photo / Getty
Taking out the favourites
Finishing up second in their pool following a loss to Australia meant the Silver Ferns' journey to the grand final wasn't an easy one.
Pitted in the semifinal against the hosts, who had thousands of passionate English fans ready to cheer them on, made their odds of winning even slimmer.
Despite winning 83 of their 95 past encounters against the Roses, the Ferns were underdogs heading into the semi having lost the previous four, including a 13-goal loss in January's Northern Quad Series.
All the stats against them
Going into the grand final, the Silver Ferns only held a 35 per cent win rate over the Australian Diamonds historically, having won just 51 of the past 146 encounters.
Just last year, the Diamonds were one win away from breaking their longest streak of 10 back-to-back victories over the Ferns.
Australia's Caitlin Bassett marked by Casey Kopua. Photo / Getty
New Zealand had faced Australia in the past three Netball World Cup finals but had suffered narrow loses each time.
A one-goal loss to Australia in pool play only added to the many stats stacked against New Zealand to lift the trophy.
Australia's tactical approach
Australia head coach Lisa Alexander had a rare opportunity to rest her star players in the semifinal, having earned the "easier" clash against the South Africa Proteas.
Regular starters Steph Wood, Courtney Bruce and Kelsey Browne all spent two quarters on the bench while captain Caitlin Bassett was rested entirely.
Of course, it nearly backfired, with Australia only beating the Proteas by two goals, but it meant the squad was much fresher heading into the final.
Meanwhile, the Ferns' semifinal against England saw only one change in the second half to Taurua's starting lineup, which left little recovery time for the key players needed to face Australia.
Laura Langman lifts the trophy with her teammates. Photo / Getty
Unconvinced Kiwi fans
Unlike England and Australia, the Silver Ferns weren't able to ride a wave of belief from Kiwi sports fans.
Fans genuinely wanted to believe the team when they said they could win the World Cup but deep down there was a sense that realistically it wasn't going to happen.
The Silver Ferns had to fight for backing by proving their improvements during pool play and it wasn't until they beat England that fans started to get on board with the winning culture they had so heavily promoted.
They were forced to create their own belief system but, in the end, that's what secured them the win.
Silver Ferns goal shoot Grace Nweke speaks about the Constellation Cup series and the rivalry against the Diamonds in the final match. Video / Alyse Wright
