Team Bath to tune up against Scotland
Team Bath’s Superleague squad will take on the Scottish national team as part of their tune-up for the season ahead.
The two training matches for the Carter-Jonas backed Team Bath squad with Scotland will take place at the Sports Training Village this Friday and Saturday (21 and 22 November).
Head coach Jess Thirlby will then follow up with a tri-tourmament against rivals Surrey Storm and Hertfordshire Mavericks at Surrey Sports Park on November 29. She will announce her final squad of 15 on December 3rd.
Thirlby is under no illusions about the difficult decisions she now faces. She said: “It’s a highly-competitive squad and I know I have some tough decisions ahead.
“There are some positions, especially in the centre-court, where selection is not straightforward”.
Team Bath are the most successful team in the history of the Superleague, having won five of the nine campaigns contested to date.
The squad from which Thirlby’s selections for 2015 will be made features 11 players returning from Team Bath’s 2014 campaign, including the exciting group of England internationals Rosie Allison, Stacey Francis, Mia Ritchie, Yas Parsons, Rachel Shaw and Sam Cook.
Talented defender Cook impressed massively with her athleticism and strength when Team Bath last won the Superleague title in 2013. She featured in last year’s long squad but missed the season through injury.
And goal attack/wing attack Rachel Shaw could also be poised to feature for Team Bath for the first time after transferring south from Yorkshire a year ago, just after the World Youth Championships, but missing the 2014 campaign through injury.
There’s also a return to the long squad for Asha Francis. The former Team Bath captain missed last season for the birth of her first child, Elise Caitlin Francis.
New names in the long squad include Wales international Kyra Jones and Scotland international Claire Brownie, who both featured for their respective nations at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Danielle McFarlane, formerly with Hertfordshire Mavericks and a former England age group player also features.
And talented young players Shaunagh Craig, Lauren Dent and Jazz Scott, who all featured in last season’s squad, return for 2015, while youngsters Ellie Gibbons and Ashleigh Jay are named in the long squad for the first time.
Eleven players are University of Bath students or graduates.
Team Bath will get their 2015 Superleague campaign underway in the New Year. They start with trips to Team Northumbria and Manchester Thunder, followed by a mouth-watering televised home game against last season’s runners-up Surrey Storm on Monday 9 February.
A full list of fixtures is available from the Team Bath website at https://www.teambath.com/sport/netball/fixtures-results/
Tickets for Team Bath’s home games are available to buy now via www.teambath.com/events/ticketline and via Sky Tickets.
Carter Jonas are Team Bath Netball’s property partner. Surridge are the official kit supplier and Skins provide the team with compression wear.
Team Bath’s 2015 long squad
Rosie Allison, Shaunagh Craig, Asha Francis, Lauren Dent, Rach Shaw, Ellie Gibbons, Mia Ritchie, Yas Parsons, Amanda Trounce, Jazz Scott, Danielle McFarlane, Scarlett Williams, Kyra Jones, Nicole Humphrys, Claire Brownie, Stacey Francis, Sam Cook, Jenna Murie, Ashleigh Jay, Sarah Penny.
For further information please contact the Team Bath press office at Matchtight Limited on 01225 383518 or press@matchtight.co.uk
