England beat South Africa to finish third in series

England drew their round-robin match against South Africa 46-46 on Sunday

England claimed a tightly contested 49-42 victory over South Africa to finish third in the Quad Series.

In the Roses' last match before July's World Cup, head coach Jess Thirlby made multiple changes throughout to identify her best 12 players.

England had not won a game in the series coming into the play-off match.

Defensively, England were assertive and powered through the court with Jade Clarke, making her 200th England appearance, the engine of the team in mid-court.

But as in the losses to Australia and New Zealand and the draw against South Africa, England struggled to reward their defensive hard work with goals and the attack end continued to get caught out by South Africa's defenders.

England led by one goal at half-time as South Africa, roused by the home crowd, rallied to keep coming back, but eventually ran out of steam to allow England to pull away, with a glimpse of Thirlby's potential best team on court in the final 15 minutes.

Defender Funmi Fadoju impressed once again, making crucial blocks and interceptions alongside the experience of Geva Mentor.

"It was amazing to be out there - loved every second of it," Fadoju told Sky Sports. "What a contest. Both teams came out firing and ready to go. It was a really good game."

Australia take on New Zealand in defence of their Quad Series title later on Wednesday.

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