Australia beat England to claim a record-extending 12th Netball World Cup title and deny the Vitality Roses a first.
England had defeated their opponents for the first time in World Cups during the group stage, winning 56-55, but were unable to repeat the feat in Cape Town on Sunday, beaten 61-45 by the ruthless Diamonds.
Australia pulled away in the third quarter, opening up a 10-point advantage at 46-36 after leading by just four points at half-time, and then controlled the final 15 minutes to complete a clinical victory.
ess Thirlby’s England were appearing in their maiden World Cup final, with their second-placed finish in 1975 secured when the event was round-robin.
For Australia, it was a ninth consecutive final with their only two losses in the previous eight coming versus New Zealand in Jamaica in 2003 and last time out in Liverpool in 2019.
The Diamonds made sure they did not suffer back-to-back defeats in finals and will now enter the next World Cup in Sydney in 2027 as defending champions as well as hosts and targeting title No 13.
The final – set-up on Saturday after England beat defending champions New Zealand in their semi-final and Australia overcame Jamaica – was locked at 13-13 after the first quarter.
England looked nervy early on but grew into the game, with Helen Housby starring – and levelling the scores on the buzzer – and Fran Williams making an impact after coming off the bench.
Australia seized the initiative from that point, with turnovers going against England and errors beginning to creep in for Thirlby’s team.
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