England to play New Zealand in Netball World Cup 2019 semi-finals after win over South Africa

England will play Group F runners-up New Zealand in the semi-finals of the Netball World Cup 2019 after beating South Africa to top Group G.

Australia came out on top in a thrilling Group F clash against New Zealand, with the Diamonds sneaking past the Kiwis 50 to 49 to secure their place against Group G runners up, South Africa.

Scotland came from behind to draw 43-all with Trinidad and Tobago, while Northern Ireland squeaked past Barbados 46-43 in the first match of the day at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, kicking off an action-packed day of netball.

England's win was the team's sixth successive victory in the tournament.

Geva Mentor said: “We weren’t too sure what to expect – obviously South Africa had a really good performance against Jamaica earlier in the week, but for us it was important that we focused on ourselves and started strong, and I thought we did that.

“We were really pleased with that performance and how it sets us up for the semi-final on Saturday.”

Scotland celebrate coming from behind to draw with Trinidad and Tobago. Credit: PA

Scotland finish sixth in Group G, and will play Barbados in the 11th-place play-off, while Trinidad and Tobago will contest a ninth-place finish with Northern Ireland.

Scotland’s Lynsey Gallagher said: “I heard the crowd roar and I knew it was a penalty pass or shot, so I just needed to take my time and put it away.

“I think it was a bit of ping pong at the end. It’s hard to win ball off Trinidad and Tobago and we just had to treasure the ball. Sometimes it was just the final execution of things – things that you know you do day-in, day-out, but I think that was just part and parcel of that game.”

Barbados' Latonia Blackman (right) and Northern Ireland's Fionnuala Toner in action. Credit: PA

The Northern Ireland Warriors will fight for a ninth-place finish following today's win.

Northern Ireland captain Caroline O’Hanlon said the victory was particularly sweet because of the two agonisingly-close defeats the team had suffered at the hands of Zimbabwe and Malawi earlier on in the tournament.

She said: “Those matches were possibly in people’s subconscious, having been on the wrong side of tight results, so it’s great to see that the team has learned and showed that composure in the last couple of minutes, even though it was maybe a wee bit chaotic at times.”