Sharper defence critical to giving Ferns shot at World Cup

Any defensive lapses mean a drop in the supply of turnover ball to the attack end. Photo / Getty Images

It seemed an odd reaction after a fairly shaky attacking performance.

In the wake of a patchy 68-44 win over South Africa on Sunday, Silver Ferns netball coach Waimarama Taumaunu - who has never been shy about pointing out her side's failings - glossed over a flat first half attacking performance, which was punctuated by missed connections and basic errors. No panic, Taumaunu said, they were uncharacteristic errors and all easily fixed.

Instead the New Zealand coach zeroed in on the efforts of the defensive end, which failed to adjust quickly enough to the South African style of attack. Taumaunu said the circle defence, anchored by captain Casey Kopua, were guilty of ball-watching while the visitors lobbed in pinpoint drop balls to impressive young shooter Lenize Potgieter.

They needed to be more disruptive. They needed to win more ball. They needed to be unwavering in their dominance.

Taumaunu's displeasure at her defensive performance is instructive of how she sees her side winning the World Cup.

The Ferns recognise they are not going to be able to match the other top nations for accuracy on attack in Sydney. Australia and Jamaica each have strong, dominant targets at the back that are easy to sight and regularly shoot in the 90s.

The circle defence were guilty of ball-watching, said Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu. Photo / Richard Robinson

In Jamaica's case, they have two equally impressive options in the 1.96m Romelda Aiken and the slightly taller Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who topped the ANZ Championship goal count this year. Caitlin Bassett, Australia's first-choice shooter, was third in the rankings and traditionally she has produced better performances at international level.

Meanwhile the Ferns shooters - Maria Tutaia, Jodi Brown, Bailey Mes and Malia Paseka - all float around in the early to mid 80s. And that's on a good day.

With the new-look shooting end still building their inside and outside combinations, Taumaunu appears to have accepted the Ferns will likely make more mistakes than their key rivals as well.

So the reality is to beat these top sides, New Zealand is going to need to win a lot more ball on defence than their opposition to compensate for their lower conversion rate at the other end of the court. Any defensive lapses mean a drop in the supply of turnover ball to the attack end.

While it didn't prove too costly against the sixth-ranked South Africans the other night, come the World Cup the Ferns are going to need to pick up any crumbs they can to have a chance at toppling the big three.