4 Jul 2011

Sport: Samoa up against it in opening clash

10:05 am on 4 July 2011

Botswana spoiled the party after they defeated host nation Singapore 43-36 in the opening match of the Netball World Championships last night.

The tournament swings in to full gear today with fellow Group C rivals South Africa and Jamaica opening proceedings before Samoa play defending champions Australia.

Missing a number of regular players due to a hardline policy from the national body, Samoa coach Linda Vagana admits the relative inexperience of her squad makes victory a tall order but says they hope to still get some benefit from the match.

"Definately being realistic, Australia's definately going to be a hard game but I'd like to use that game as an opportunity to get everyone off the bench and give them a taste of how these champs all play."

Fiji play their first match against New Zealand later this evening.