Commonwealth Games: England cruise past Northern Ireland to open netball campaign as Scotland fall to New Zealand

England thrashed Northern Ireland 83-34 on the opening day of the Netball pool stage at the Commonwealth Games but Scotland were beaten by New Zealand.

England ran out comfortable winners at The Hydro, with all 12 players taking to the court in a confidence-building performance.

Head coach Anna Stembridge saw her side take a 24-7 lead at the first quarter break, which soon became 41-18 at half- time.

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Jayda Pechova and captain Fran Williams both impressed, while Lois Pearson, Sasha Glasgow and Liv Tchine linked up nicely.

Half-time substitute Eleanor Cardwell top-scored with 35 goals from 37 shots, with the squad now focusing on the ultimate test against defending champions Australia on Sunday.

"Getting that first win and performance under our belts was important," said Stembridge. "We'll make sure we close the loop in our debrief and then turn our full focus to Australia tomorrow."

"Australia are world No 1 for a reason, and we have a huge amount of respect for them," she continued.

"We feel well prepared and will be ready to respond to whatever tactics they bring. It's exciting to think about the matchups and the challenges we can pose as well.

"Ultimately, you want to play against the best and coach against the best.

"Those are the opportunities that test you and help you improve."

Vice-captain Tchine added: "It was great to see everyone putting into practice what we've been working on in training. Everyone came out and gave everything.

"I think we needed that. We played together well and got those first-game nerves out of the way. Everyone knows what it's like in that opening match, so now we're ready to focus on Australia tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Scotland suffered a 74-44 defeat to New Zealand in their Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games opener, though the remaining group matches against lower-ranked opposition offer a chance to bounce back.

Team England netball squad

Defence
Halimat Adio (28, London, London Pulse)
Francesca Williams (28, Reading, West Coast Fever)
Funmi Fadoju (23, Redbridge, London Pulse)
Jayda Pechova (21, Fleet, Nottingham Forest)

Midcourt
Imo Allison (28, Huddersfield, Queensland Firebirds)
Jess Shaw (30, Stockport, Loughborough Lightning)
Amy Carter (27, Nottingham, AO Manchester Thunder)
Nat Metcalf (33, Keighley, AO Manchester Thunder)

Attack
Sasha Glasgow (27, Moonta, Australia, West Coast Fever)
Liv Tchine (25, London, London Pulse)
Eleanor Cardwell (31, Blackpool, AO Manchester Thunder)
Lois Pearson (26, Bury, AO Manchester Thunder)

The Vitality Roses; England Netball's senior team, are currently third in the World Netball world rankings.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Commonwealth Games: England cruise past Northern Ireland to open netball campaign as Scotland fall to New Zealand