U19 England Netball Squad tour for Oundle pupil

This summer, an Oundle School pupil travelled to New Zealand to tour with the U19 England Netball Squad

Posted by Lucinda Reid | September 24, 2017 | Sports & Leisure

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Over the summer, Oundle School netballer, Sienna Rushton, 15,  toured New Zealand with the U19 England Netball Squad.

The team took on Beko League giving many of them their first taste of the New Zealand style of play. The highlight of the tour saw the team compete in the 2017 Netball NZ U19 Championships at the ASB Sports Centre, Wellington. During the competition, the team won all of their matches, playing teams from Auckland, Christchurch and Hamilton. They even beat Wellington, the reigning champions from the previous year.

Sienna commented, “New Zealand was a great opportunity and learning experience for me, not only to learn about the New Zealand style of play but to improve on all my skills and channels of play. It was incredible to travel all the way to NZ and I loved the whole experience, from the stunning scenery to the hard-fought matches. All of the girls played so well and I can’t wait to use what I learnt at the start of this new season.”

Back in March, Sienna was capped three times as a member of the U17 England National Squad at the Netball Europe Championships, held in Belfast. Considerable victories against Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland saw the England team triumph as European champions.

Sienna‘s netball career outside of school is with her local club Turnford Netball Club. She has represented them at U12, U14 and U16 Regional and National Club level and is currently playing for their Senior Squad in the England Netball Premier League Division 1. Since joining Oundle in September 2015 as a Sports Scholar, Sienna has also been selected to represent the Netball Super League team Wasps at U21 level.

Sienna has had to work extremely hard both with coaches and on her own and is supported by Oundle’s Head of Netball, Bev Burnham with every aspect of her netball training. ‘Technical and Tactical’ netball skills are undertaken with School coaches and a full ‘Strength and Conditioning’ programme is also provided. Sienna has to manage her time with precision to enable her to study as well as train.

Sienna’s journey has not been an easy one as earlier in the year she sustained an ankle injury which has been monitored and nurtured by medical staff both internally and externally. She has to travel to Loughborough University for Regional training, Coventry for Wasps, Sheffield, Bath and many other places for England, and all over the country for her club team matches. This, alongside her study, makes her life at Oundle a very busy one.

Head of Netball, Bev Burnham commented, “Sienna is a fantastic role model to young netball players both in and out of School. She has a positive work ethic which she should be proud of.  To have her here at Oundle boosts both the Netball club and the Sports Scholarship programme and we all wish her well.”