Gibraltar netball to play in Wales Netball Series in January

Gibraltar netball is to play in a six match test series in Wales in January. This was revealed this week by Wales Netball in a media release issued on Thursday. The series will take between 14 -26 January.

Wales Netball announced “ Wales Netball are delighted to announce a home series in January 2022. The hosts will face Gibraltar, Republic of Ireland and Isle of Man in a 6 match test series, which will be played at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre.
The four nations will be battling it out in January to win the Wendy White Trophy. Wendy White had been a part of the Wales Netball fraternity for over 50 years as an international player, umpire, coach, bench official and a key member of the Wales Netball Board. Wendy sadly passed away in 2016 and we are delighted to continue to honour Wendy’s dedication to the sport by naming the series and trophy after her.  
The matches are due to be played from Friday the 14th to Sunday the 16th of January 2022. The test series will be a new but good challenge for the senior squad. The last time the seniors played the Republic of Ireland was back in 2019 at Netball Europe and, this will be the first time the seniors face Gibraltar. Having faced the Isle of Man in October, it is great to play them again along with the other nations.
Speaking about the Isle of Man Test Series, Wales Head Coach Sara Moore said, “Winning the recent test series against the Isle Of Man 3-0 was really important, we hadn’t played the Isle Of Man previously, so we really didn’t know what to expect. We knew they would challenge us in different way to other teams, and we wanted to be able to work through those challenges in the moment.”
“We got to expose all players across all three games, we worked different combinations, and we had several new caps, but what was most pleasing was that regardless of the line-up that we put out, we achieved pretty consistent performances across the quarters. When we face the IOM again in January we will be looking to minimise our errors and push forward with a more consistent performance across the 60 minutes, regardless of the line-up.”
About the test matches, Sara said “The January series provides us with another opportunity to play much needed test matches as part of our campaign to qualify for Commonwealth Games. Playing three games against the Republic Of Ireland, Gibraltar and the Isle Of Man at home will be the first time we have played on home soil since summer 2019.”
“It will be great for the players to have the opportunity to play in front of their friends and family, and also for our fans, who I know are really looking forward to watching Wales play at home.”
The action-packed Quad Series will be the first time Wales have hosted a home match since 2019. Commenting on this, Wales Netball’s CEO Vicki Sutton said, “We are thrilled to be hosting International Netball fixtures in Wales once more.”
“This event will be incredibly special to us for many reasons. I look forward to welcoming the teams from Gibraltar, Republic of Ireland and Isle of Man and truly hope we can fill the venue with fans once more (Welsh Government Restrictions Dependant).”
Sara Moore added “Playing at home in Wales is always special, it’s such a different feeling to playing anywhere else in the world.”
“For me, it will be great to coach my first home series in my hometown of Ebbw Vale. I am so proud to coach this team and being able to do that in front of my friends and family will be amazing.”
“Most importantly though, it will be an opportunity for the players to showcase what they can do, to show how far they have come as a group since 2019, and to reconnect with all of our amazing fans, who we know will show us tremendous support.”
 
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