England Netball prepare for Australia by thrashing Northern Ireland in Glasgow

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. Results and fixtures for 2026 seasonNetball Super League standingsSky Sports' Off the Court Podcast Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only. 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. Also See: Pechova makes step up as Team England squad named for Commonwealth Games Listen to Netball Off the Court podcast "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." Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only. 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. Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only. Team England netball squadDefenceHalimat Adio (28, London, London Pulse)Francesca Williams (28, Reading, West Coast Fever)Funmi Fadoju (23, Redbridge, London Pulse)Jayda Pechova (21, Fleet, Nottingham Forest)MidcourtImo 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)AttackSasha 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.