Lauren Ngwira on trials in England
Malawi national netball team and Tigresses’ goalkeeper-cum-shooter, Lauren Ngwira, is undergoing short-term trials with a top English netball side, Team Northumbria, netball officials have confirmed.
The Queens, minus Ngwira, jetted back from England on Friday after taking part in a Vitality Netball International Series where they lost all the three games they played
Malawi lost the first game 66-60 before going down 61-53 in the second match. The Queens upped their game in the third match and narrowly lost 62-60.
Following her excellent displays throughout the series, Ngwira has been offered a chance for trials and is expected back in the country on December 10.
Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) General Secretary, Carol Bapu, confirmed that the lanky utility player was left behind to enable her undergo the trials.
“It’s an opportunity for the country and it shows that we are moving in the right direction. The team [Northumbria] would like to assess her thoroughly before offering a contract,” Bapu said.
Tigresses Head Coach, Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa, was locked up in a meeting on the same and promised to get back to us.
She had not yet done so by the time we went to press.
Manchester Thunder shooter, Joyce Mvula, tipped Ngwira to impress during the trials.
“Lauren is a good player and can easily fit in Northumbria’s defence. The team is looking for a defender because the one they rely on suffered an injury. She only needs to continue believing in herself as she did during the Test Series,” Mvula said.
If successful, Ngwira will become Malawi’s second player in England after Mvula, who will be in her second season at Manchester Thunder.
According to northumbriasport.com, Team Northumbria is the Netball Super League franchise of Northumbria University and is the only Super League netball club in the North East.
“Team Northumbria competes in the 10 team ‘top flight’ tier of UK netball covered by Sky Sports. Based at the university’s world class venue, Sport Central, in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the team attracts supporters from across the region and beyond,” states the website.
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