Karin Burger shines on home soil to lead New Zealand's World Cup title defence

30-year-old Burger was born and raised in Cape Town but moved to New Zealand at 18 to pursue a netball career and now turns out for the Silver Ferns, with whom she won the 2019 World Cup.

She was instrumental in the Kiwis' opening 76-27 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on Friday, swapping between wing defence and goal defence. She managed six intercepts and seven gains to leave Taurua particularly impressed with her showing.

"Very much a force in WD and GD, and sometimes defensively it's the work that's done upfront to be able to sit better. But, once again it shows her athleticism with regard to moving forward or being able to intercept from the back. So, I'm really pleased for her to start her tournament knowing, also, she's from South Africa. We're honoured to have her in our midst”, Taurua said. 

Taurua also reflected on the start of their title defence, as they opened dominantly,  ending the first quarter with a 23-2 lead.

"I was happy with the start. I thought we were quite dominant, it's some elements we’ve been working on and I could see that on the court. I thought as the game progressed we sort of pulled ourselves apart or the opposition did and we became reactive.

"But it's a good start for us and we know the areas that we can improve on." Next up for New Zealand is Uganda, who gave them a tough time in their 53-40 win at last year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Taurua has welcomed what she anticipates will be another feisty challenge from the She Cranes who thrashed Singapore 79-37 in their opener. 

 Elsewhere, in the morning session of Day 1 of the Netball World Cup 2023, Tonga edged Fiji 56-51 before a rampant Australia beat Zimbabwe 86-30.