New Zealand national netball team
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| Nickname(s) | Silver Ferns |
|---|---|
| Association | Netball New Zealand |
| Confederation | Oceania Netball Federation |
| Head coach | Janine Southby |
| Manager | Esther Molloy |
| Captain | Katrina Grant |
| Vice-captain | Laura Langman |
| Most caps | Irene Van Dyk (139) |
| INF ranking | 2 |
| First international | |
Australia  40 – 11  New ZealandMelbourne, 1938 |
|
| World Championships | |
| 2015 placing | 2nd |
| Best result | 1st (1967, 1979, 1987, 2003) |
| Commonwealth Games | |
| 2014 placing | 2nd |
| Best result | 1st (2006, 2010) |
The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (Cyathea dealbata), which is an iconic emblem for many New Zealand sports teams. The Silver Ferns were formed in 1938 as a representative New Zealand team to tour Australia. To date, they have been one of the most dominant national netball teams in the world, along with the Australian Diamonds, and have a winning record against most other netball nations. At the end of the 2011 international netball season, the Silver Ferns were ranked second in the IFNA World Rankings.
The Silver Ferns compete annually for the Constellation Cup a home-and-away test series with Australia, and also play test matches with other major netball countries, including England and Jamaica, on a regular basis. They have competed at every World Netball Championship since its inauguration in 1963, and in every Commonwealth Games since netball's inclusion in 1998. The Silver Ferns have won the World Netball Championships four times (in 1967, 1979, 1987 and 2003). They also won the netball title at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and 2010.
By the time of the 1960 tour of Australia, netball-playing nations from around the world had met to draft the first international rules of netball, which featured seven-a-side teams. The first Netball World Championships (then called the "World Tournament") took place in 1963 in Eastbourne, England. The New Zealand team travelled to the venue by boat, arriving after a voyage of six weeks. The team were captained by Pam Edwards, with Muir as vice-captain. Australia defeated New Zealand 37–36 in a closely contested final to win the tournament. The Silver Ferns would not play again for another four years, until the next World Championships in Perth. Captained by Judy Blair, New Zealand defeated Australia 43–40 to win the tournament.
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