In June, we wrote about how we’ve been keeping active this summer and introduced Emma Love, a member of our graduate programme, now a paraplanner, who has developed into a wonderful member of the Murphy Wealth team.
At the time, Emma was busy training and preparing to represent Scotland at the Netball World Cup.
The competition took place in Cape Town, South Africa between 28 July and 6 August 2023 – the first tournament to take place on the African continent.
Here’s how Emma and Scotland performed and her thoughts on representing her country at the top of the women’s game.
Scotland has a rich history at the Netball World Cup, qualifying for all but one event
The Scottish Thistles have a proud history at the Netball World Cup having competed at almost every event since the competition was founded in 1963 — the only year they missed out on was 2011.
The team, coached by Tamsin Greenway and captained by Claire Maxwell, had high expectations going into the tournament but understood the challenges they would face.
Overcoming obstacles and adversity is something our Emma is very familiar with, having bounced back from an ACL injury early on in her netball career to make Scotland’s squad at the 2023 World Cup.
In an interview with Press and Journal, she said of her injury and journey to recovery: “To feel like I was achieving a lot – I was in the Strathclyde Sirens squad at the time – to suddenly not being able to walk for a couple weeks, and then it took me months to be able to run again, it was really tough.
“I was only cleared to start playing netball again at the start of last year, so to have come from that low of an injury to being able to turn it around – I couldn’t have been happier to have done that.
“It makes all the work you do in rehab worth it when you’re selected and able to play in these competitions. It’s a dream come true to think I’m going to the World Cup”.
Emma and Scotland did the country proud with the team’s highest-placed finish since 1991
The 2023 Netball World Cup was the 16th competition since its original iteration, the Netball World Championships, took place in 1963 – marking the 60th anniversary of the tournament.
16 teams from around the world gathered in South Africa to compete against the very best for their shot at the world title.
Scotland were drawn in a competitive Group B alongside England, Malawi, and Barbados.
After a narrow opening loss to Malawi, the team bounced back to beat Barbados before putting on a spirited display against England.
Scotland’s results saw them move onto the second stage of the tournament and a further five group games before their final “placement” match against Wales to determine their final position.
A 10th place finish for the team confirmed Scotland’s best performance at the World Cup since 1991.
Emma said of the tournament: “It has been a couple of weeks now since I flew home from Cape Town after competing at the Netball World Cup. Such a major competition came with a rollercoaster of different emotions, but overall, it was an unbelievable experience that I will never forget.
“Scotland is ranked 10th in the world at netball and we went into the competition with the aim of matching that ranking. After tough group games against England and Malawi and wins against Barbados and Fiji, we managed to secure 10th place in the competition. This is the first time in the modern era of netball that Scotland has finished in the Top 10, which is something we are really proud of.
“As my first world cup, it was personally a great competition for me. Being able to test myself against top international teams, such as the likes of Australia, is an opportunity that does not come around often, and I had to grab it with both hands. I have learned so much as a player through this experience and I’m excited to see what the future holds with this team”.
We are incredibly proud of Emma and the rest of the Scottish national team. We are lucky to have such a driven and hard-working woman as part of the Murphy Wealth family.
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