KEY POINTS:
A lot of squirming in seats went on at the Silver Ferns' video analysis session yesterday as the team relived the horrors of their worst performance in recent memory.
Ferns coach Ruth Aitken and her management team sat up until the early hours of the morning after Wednesday night's shock loss to England, dissecting every aspect of her side's muddled performance.
Yesterday the team were shown the sobering footage, which painfully illustrated just where the Ferns dropped the ball - literally and figuratively.
Ferns defender Joline Henry admitted it did not make for comfortable viewing, but it was a necessary process if the side are to move on from the loss and put things right in tomorrow's third and final test in Palmerston North.
"It's in your face, you can't ignore it when it's black and white right in front of you, and to have that immediate feedback was really good," said Henry.
The tape highlighted several key areas the Ferns were deficient in.
England did a superb job of bunching the New Zealand attack together, never allowing the home side to get any flow. By contrast, the tourists seemed to have easy passage through the court, with the Ferns' famed swarming zone defence, on which Monday night's 39-goal victory was built, notably absent.
Aitken said if her side were to avoid the same fate again tomorrow, they must deliver on the basics and take responsibility out on court.
"We've got to be much more vigilant in terms of executing our game plan and making sure we work hard to do what we know we need to do.
"On defence we've got to put the pressure on right from the start right throughout the court. I thought we allowed that ball to come through too fast and it made it really difficult for the defenders."
The most disappointing aspect of Wednesday's performance was that her side seemed to be lacking in motivation compared with their English rivals. Aitken said her side's keenness should never have to be questioned at international level.
"The reality was England had more hunger out there and we need to be able to do that if we're coming off a win as much as if we're coming off a loss."
The good news is that, after their poor performance in game two, the Ferns' hunger is back threefold heading in to tomorrow's decider.
