Aussies bracing for semi-final clash

NEWTON, Singapore:Norma Plummer, coach of defending champions Australia, says they are bracing themselves for a massive semi-final clash against Jamaica's Sunshine Girls in this year's World Netball Championships.

The Australians are by far the most successful nation in the history of the competition, having won the championships nine out of 12 times since its inception. However, the form of the world's number two-ranked team has come in for question in recent times. They surrendered their Commonwealth Games title to New Zealand last October, then were held to a 1-1 draw by the Sunshine Girls in the last series.

Despite this fact, Plummer believes that her team still has what it takes to retain their title.

"We are always quietly confident," said Plummer. "I think if you have won nine of 12 world championships, you do have a bit of a culture there knowing what it takes to win but we are also very mindful that Jamaica has improved a lot," she said.

"They had Jill McIntosh over there working with them, and now they have 'OB' (Oberon Pitterson) as their coach. I have a lot of respect for her as a former player, I am sure that she is driving the players very hard and she has brought a lot of discipline to their performance," Plummer said.

She continued: "Romelda (Aiken) has improved a lot while playing in the Australian ANZ Championships and so it is going to be a very tough match between both teams, once we meet in the semi-finals."

The Australians are drawn in Group A and will open their account against Samoa today, two hours after the Sunshine Girls battle South Africa in their opening match (10 p.m. Jamaica time). The Australians will then oppose Northern Ireland a day later. The Australians will play Sri Lanka in their final group game the following day.

Key players out

Plummer added that a number of her key players have been ruled out because of injuries, but she noted that this won't hamper her team's chances of retaining their title.

"We have lost two players since we played against the Sunshine Girls in January, but we have put together a confident team that is very versatile and have the option to be able to change it up on court," said Plummer. "We are currently still the world champions because we won in 2007, and so we are confident that we will be there in the final," Plummer stated. The semi-finals will be played on July 8.

- R.B.