Destination Auckland: England's Match Schedule Revealed
29 May 2007by Rona Hunnisett
The listing was posted by England Netball
November may seem a while away, but preparations for this year's World Championships are now well under way. And the draw for the competition has now been made, allowing England's management and squad members to start planning for the challenges to come.
Hosts and reigning world champions New Zealand opens the competition against Malawi on Saturday 10 November, but England's campaign starts a day later, on Sunday 11 November, when the team faces Barbados at 4.10pm in the first of its group matches. In other key matches to be played that day, Wales will play Botswana, while Jamaica faces the Cook Islands and Australia has a potentially tricky encounter against the physical Samoans.
England then plays Malaysia on Monday 12th at 4.10pm, while Australia plays Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica plays Fiji. As for the home nations, Scotland faces Samoa and for Wales, a tough encounter with the reigning World Champions New Zealand will take place at 4.10pm.
Tuesday 13th November sees Wales face Malawi in the day's opening game, while Scotland will be under pressure against Australia at 2.10pm. New Zealand plays Botswana at 6.10pm before England plays South Africa at 8.10pm in the final match of the first round robin phase.
The teams will then be regrouped, with those ranked 9-16 playing their quarter finals on Wednesday 14th. England should play their quarter final on 15 November, with semi finals scheduled for Friday 16 November. The play off for third and fourth place will take place at 6.10pm on Saturday 17 November, with the World Championship final played at 8.10pm that evening.
(all times shown are local New Zealand timing).
A travel agency partner has now been announced for all those from the UK or Europe hoping to attend the Championships. Travel Places has a host of experience in arranging sports tours and will be happy to assist with all enquiries. For more information, contact Claire at Travel Places on 01903 832888 or email clairea@travelplaces.co.uk.