The 12 strong Irish squad, boasting 7 UCD students and 2 Trinity students, had been training for 2 years in preparation for the tournament and are delighted with the result. To have such a large proportion of the squad come from Netball UCD is a credit to the club and University, Netball UCD know they are in a very lucky position due to the generosity and support of the UCD AUC.
After coming top of their group over Sweden and Gibraltar, Ireland were set to meet the favourites, Great Britain in the final. Due to UCD student Michelle Liddy dislocating her shoulder in a match against Sweden the previous day, coach Lynnette Wall had to rethink her starting seven, which would star 3 UCD students - Julie Fogarty as captain and wing attack, Katie Henderson as wing defence and Caroline Conlon as Goal Shooter.
After the first quarter, the score was tied at 4-4, however in the 2nd quarter, Great Britain managed to establish a 4-point lead. It was becoming clear that Ireland were lacking height in their defensive circle so the decision was made to remove GK and Trinity student Sandra Green, and to bring on Zara Hueston on as GS in their attacking circle. This allowed Jan Hynes, Ireland's tallest player to move from attack into her preferred defensive position GD.
The change appeared to be working, as in the 3rd quarter Ireland managed to pull back a point. The comeback continued through the 4th quarter, where with just over a minute left of the game Ireland found themselves only trailing Great Britain by a point, with Great Britain taking the next centre. As the clock ticked down to a minute, Ireland broke the Great Britain centre, captain Julie Fogarty fed the ball into fellow UCD teammate Caroline Conlon who easily popped the ball in the net to equalise the game with under a minute left of play. Ireland would have the next centre. It looked like Ireland now had control of the game with less than 30 seconds left, however after an uncaught pass in Irelands attacking circle, Great Britain found themselves back in posession and fed the ball to their shooter who after been fouled received a penalty shot. Everybody held their breath as there was only seconds on the clock, the Great Britain shooter missed her shot and the whistle blew for full time. The final score was 18-18. The game was set to go into extra time - two halves of 7 minutes. Despite the tiring faces on the Irish squad, coach Lynnette Wall decided to keep with the 7 who had made such a brave come back. Unfortunately, it was not to be Ireland's day, with Great Britain regaining their previous 4 point lead in extra time. The final score Ireland 22, Great Britain 26.
This is the closest Ireland has come to winning an International netball tournament, proving despite the decline in school netball, Ireland is still improving the quality of its national squad and once again closing the gap between the UK and non-UK countries. This is even more impressive when you realise the Irish squad is completely self funded and playing teams who have the full financial support of their respective sports councils. To tie with Great Britain is a major achievement for the Irish squad, especially when Great Britain has hundreds of thousands of players to choose from, while Ireland has in the mere hundreds. Had extra time gone the other way - the result would have been a major upset in the world of netball. Netball Ireland (NGB) is hoping that this recent success will encourage a lot of schools to make the return to the sport - a necessity if Ireland is going to continue with its current success. In 2011, Ireland is set to host the U17 Netball Europe tournament in UCD, where hopefully the U17 squad can mirror this recent success of the open squad.
Irish squad (Vs GB): GK Sandra Green (TCD), GD Sile Smith, WD Katie Henderson (UCD), C Niamh Murphy (TCD), WA Julie Fogarty (captain and UCD), GA Jan Haynes, GS Caroline Conlon (UCD), subs: Zara Hueston, Anna Heffernan (UCD), Michelle Dunne (UCD), Sinead Bewick Darcy (UCD), Michelle Liddy (injured UCD).
>Great Britain squad: Stehanie McGarrity, Samantha Murphy, Lynsey Gallagher, Erin McQuarrie, Rose Walker, Hannah Thompson, Amanda Davis, Lottie Richardson, Grace Stone, Hannah Aldcroft, Olivia Rees, Kate Blair"
