The New Zealand netball team made it two from two today when they beat Wales 70-44 in their second Commonwealth Games outing.
The result follows their first-up 64-51 win over Uganda.
For the first half of the match the New Zealanders made heavy weather of Wales. They allowed a big first quarter lead to slip. Wales won the second quarter 13-9 and at one point closed to within two goals.
New Zealand coach Janine Southby made wholesale changes at halftime and from then New Zealand pulled away inexorably.
Even so, there were some area of concern. The New Zealand shooters had an 82 per cent success rate, not really good enough in an indoor match against opposition that was not terribly testing.
Counterbalancing that, there was some urgency and drive in the second half and the New Zealanders will be wanting to build on that.
New Zealand defender Kelly Jury, who played the second half at goal keep, felt the second half was far more encouraging.
“We came out firing in the second half. We really wanted to put our foot down and show what we’re made of,” she said.
Jury said there was a long way to go in the tournament but she could feel confidence building in the team. “Our trust in each other is growing with every practice and match. We’re on the way up.”
New Zealand’s next match is against Malawi on April 8.