England’s Roses edged South Africa 65-63 in the third-place play-off at the Netball Nations Cup at The Copper Box in London.

World Champions New Zealand took Gold beating Jamaica 67-56 in the final of the four-team tournament.

After losing to the Silver Ferns and Jamaicans in the round-robin stage, a rematch against the Proteas was next up for England to salvage a medal from the tournament, but with the confidence of beating the South African’s 58-54 earlier on in the week.

England Head Coach Jess Thirlby made three changes to the starting seven from their loss against Jamaica the day before with Razia Quashie, Amy Carter and George Fisher coming into the side. This shift in tactics seemed to help the Roses have a more solid set up and help England lead going into half time with a 36-29 advantage.

However, the hosts grew complacent as the second half grew on, which led to South Africa taking the lead with four minutes to go. 

However, a late turnover from Stacey Francis in the dying seconds was decisive as England held on to secure third place overall in the four-team tournament.

England defender Francis was disappointed the team weren’t able to replicate their 2018 Gold Coast run to gold and having to settle for Bronze,

"We're ambitious and not making the final was an opportunity missed, the [2018 Commonwealth] gold medal was testament to the potential for this team to be world-beaters.”

Francis, who missed out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold winning team, won bronze in Delhi for England in 2010. But doesn’t want her legacy of winning bronze to continue with the national team

"We don't want to become a team that is happy with a 50-50 success rate as we want to win every time we step on the court."

England now take an international break for the domestic season, before regrouping in September for the Quad Series which will feature themselves, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.