Tall Ferns forced to 'cobble together' team after separate trials enforced by Covid

May 28, 2021

The team are unlikely to be all together until just before September's Asia Cup.

The Tall Ferns are trying to pull together a team for the World Cup qualifiers in September, but with ongoing Covid-19 issues, it's unlikely the team will all be in one place until the eve of the qualifiers.

Charlisse Leger-Walker was the star name at a training camp today, the one and only camp the Tall Ferns have this year.

The 19-year-old has been a star on the court for Washington State and has been named by ESPN as one of the top 25 women's college basketball players.

She changed her flights home to make sure she was at this camp.

"When I was making my decision of which college to go to that was a priority for me, talking to them about availability for Tall Ferns," she said.

The training camp is full of women doing the amateur athlete juggle, students, full-time workers, and new mums.

Coach Guy Molloy is also making do. He has had to hold two completely separate trials, this one and another for the Australia-based players in March.

"Somehow out of all that we've got to cobble it all together and pick a New Zealand team," Molloy said.

After this week he won't see the team until just before September's Asia Cup, something he does not think is good enough given the status of the team.

"I think that the female players have got to be supported much, much more than what they are because everything that we put to them is essentially homework," he said.

"Go and do your job or go to uni then do our fitness work or then do our shooting programmes."

He is hopeful more funding is close, but at least he has bright talent in the meantime, even if it is difficult to have them all in one place.

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