Silver Ferns defence seen as key

20 Sep 2012, 9:06 pm   -   Source: AAP
New Zealand held off a spirited Australian comeback to win the Constellation Cup 50-49. (AAP)

New Zealand held off a spirited Australian comeback to win the Constellation Cup 50-49. (AAP)

Australian coach Lisa Alexander has highlighted New Zealand's early blanket defence as key in their 50-49 victory in the second netball Test in Auckland.

Australian coach Lisa Alexander paid tribute to New Zealand's early defensive effort after the Diamonds fell to defeat in a trans-Tasman netball series for the first time since 2004.

The Silver Ferns held out against their fast-finishing opponents to win the second Test 50-49 and take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The result also gave them the Constellation Cup for the first time in the trophy's three-season history.

The Australians were made to play catch-up after falling 13 goals behind late in the first half and then going into half-time 31-19 down.

A big comeback and the narrowness of the defeat offered little consolation to Alexander.

"It's pretty disappointing," she said.

"It means a series loss to us, which we haven't done for eight years. It's pretty hard to take."

Referring to her side's slow start, Alexander described New Zealand's blanket defence in the opening period as outstanding.

"You can only play as well as your opposition lets you and I think we fell into a few traps because of that," she said.

"We fought our way out of it, so there's good signs there."

Alexander changed her line-up at the start of the third quarter, bringing on shooter Caitlin Bassett for Catherine Cox, who was making her 100th Test appearance.

She also tweaked her mid-court, including taking off skipper Natalie van Bertouch at centre and bringing on Renae Hallinan at wing defence.

Bassett, who made an impact when she came on late in the 54-52 first Test loss in Melbourne, was again influential as the Diamonds slowly ate into the deficit.

But having landed 19 from 23, and with just seconds remaining, she missed with an attempt that would have tied the scores.

Cox was among the first to offer Bassett her support after the final whistle.

"I went straight up to her and said `you better smile', because it's obviously not her fault," she said.

"We've all been there. You can't let the result of the game go to one person. Many of us made errors out there so I just had to remind her of that."

New Zealand coach Waimarama Taumaunu said it was great to win and to see her players show composure at the end.

However, she was disappointed that the finish became as nerve-wracking as it did, highlighting the third quarter, which Australia won 16-10 to close to 41-36.

"I'm delighted we've won the Constellation Cup for the first time," she said.

"More importantly, we set ourselves the task of putting back-to-back wins together and we've done that.

"From those perspectives, I'm very pleased, but that third quarter is something we're going to look closely at."

The final Test is in Christchurch on Sunday.

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