Fern Ready For World Netball Challenge In Botswana

Cardiff-based British Army recruit Fern Davies is preparing to battle for netball glory in Botswana.

Davies, originally from Holywell in North Wales, is in the Wales team for the Netball World Youth Cup being played from Saturday, July 6 to Sunday, July 16.

“I can’t wait to go to Botswana and play against the best young players in the world,” says Davies, who is originally from Holywell in North Wales. “That was one of my primary goals this season.

“It’s a stepping stone to the Commonwealth Games.

“It’s really exciting. We have such a young squad in Wales. There are a few 16 and 17-year-olds coming through who look like fantastic prospects. Some of them are starting to make their mark in Superleague.

“And the more of those players who can begin to make an impact in the Superleague the better – it will only improve us a nation.”

The backing of TASS – the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme – enables Davies to focus on top flight netball and the challenge of Army life.

Davies receives her TASS funding through a partnership with The British Army which supports the current Army Elite Sports Programme with the aim of producing future Olympic.

“I’m working for the Army in the Cardiff careers office helping with recruitment,” she says. “Knowing that the TASS support is there while I combine that role with playing for the Celtic Dragons and Wales is a weight off my mind.”

Davies is one of three members of the Celtic Dragons Superleague squad selected for the Wales under-21 team, along with Lydia Hitchings and Leila Thomas.

Training partners Megan Powell and Chloe James are in the final 12, while Lowri Jenkins been named as a reserve.

After qualifying for the World Cup in October 2016, the Wales long squad have been preparing for the international event which is held every four years.

Wales have been drawn into Pool D and will face England, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago plus Grenada in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.

Wales under-21 squad: Rebecca Baker, Fern Davies, Izzy Dunsford, Chloe Dyke, Celyn Emanuel, Lydia Hitchings, Chloe James, Bethan Johnson, Sarah Llewelyn, Megan Powell, Leila Thomas, Miquie Walker-Jones. Non-travelling reserves: Georgia Jenkins, Lowri Jenkins, Eleri Michaels.