Wales head to South Africa for first netball World Cup since 2015

Wales have departed for South Africa in preparation for their first appearance at the the Netball World Cup, which takes place in Cape Town from 28 July to 6 August, since 2015.

Captain Nia Jones has said that her players are both mentally and physically ready, having topped the European qualifiers going unbeaten in five games.

Of the main 12 players in the squad, nine play in the Netball Super League.

Six of these come from Celtic Dragons – five of whom will make their Netball World Cup debuts.

Nia Jones, who plays for the Leeds Rhinos will also make her World Cup bow.

For Georgia Rowe this will be her second World Cup alongside Team Bath‘s Bethan Dyke.

The team departed yesterday (23 July) for South Africa ahead of their first match, which will take place straight after the opening ceremony, against the hosts South Africa on Friday 28 July.

Both teams are in Group C alongside Jamaica and Sri Lanka.

Wales are up against Jamaica on Saturday 29 July and the Welsh Feathers play Sri Lanka on Sunday 30 July.

Scotland and England have also qualified and are amongst the 16 teams from across the globe who will play during the 10-day tournament.

The fixtures for the second two stages will be confirmed following the end of phase one with every match being shown live on Sky Sports, with one game per day available on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.

Partnership

Before the Welsh Feathers departed for Cape Town, Wales Netball also announced a new official partnership with the University of South Wales (USW).

Student placement opportunities are embedded in the partnership, alongside coaching education opportunities, a performance hub at USW Sport Park, and kit sponsorship, which will be unveiled at the first match in South Africa.

Wales Netball Chief Executive Officer Vicki Sutton, said: “This partnership has been in the making for quite some time, and the journey so far with USW has been incredibly positive.”

Ms Sutton added that the University of South Wales, is fast becoming a hub for the sport and the investment they have put into netball has already had an impact.

“It is great to have them on board ahead of the World Cup (and) it is a fantastic boost to the squad to have such a valued partner on board,” she said.

Jay Probert, Head of Subject for Sport at USW, said: “We are proud and excited to officially launch our partnership with Wales Netball at such an exciting time for the sport. Creating, establishing, and growing strategic partnerships is key to success here at USW and the opportunity to work closely with an organisation with such aligned values will undoubtedly yield many benefits for our students.”