The Silver Ferns have been stunned by a development England side in Christchurch this afternoon, losing by a single goal.
The New Zealand side failed to improve from their form at the Netball World Cup, falling to England 55-54 in the opening Taini Jamison Trophy test in Christchurch.
The inexperienced English side, boasting seven debutantes, were impressive on attack.
The shooting combination of Sasha Glasgow and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis impressed, forcing Silver Ferns goal keep Kelly Jury to the bench early on.
Mistakes were prevalent in New Zealand’s game, notching up 17 unforced errors.
England’s touring side has been highly criticised by Netball New Zealand. When the squad was announced at the start of the month chief executive Jennie Wyllie labelled it as "disappointing" and "disrespectful".
After the match, England vice captain Halimat Adio said her side hasn't been paying attention to the negative commentary.
"That was all noise in the background, we don’t really care about that, we care about what was inside our bubble. People can have their opinions on what they think about the squad, but what we think about ourselves is the most important thing."
The visitors were dominant over the first three quarters.
The Silver Ferns made a last quarter comeback, though the Roses remained calm and composed to take a one goal win.
Silver Ferns skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio said she's sick of doing interviews as a losing captain.
"I really think we did it to ourselves, the energy we brought in the last quarter is 100% energy. We need to bring [that] from the start.
"I'm unsure why that was missing, the girls are like energiser bunnies. We’ve got more to give and we’ve got to bring it in the next game, we just can’t put ourselves in that position. We’re our own worst enemies."
The second game of the series is on Wednesday at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua.
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