She’s ‘Liv’ing Her Best Life

By Paul Prenderville

Olivia Tchine could barely contain her delight after Saturday’s 76-50 victory over Team Bath which tightened the Pulse grip on a place in the Superleague top four.

“It doesn’t matter what combination it is, I know I have attackers in front of me that can do their job and do it really really well,” the England Roses shooter smiled.

After signing the last of what seemed like hundreds of autographs, posing for a few hundred more fan selfies, Tchine was able to take a breath and enjoy not only the result but a fluent, sparkling performance where the attack end deservedly took the credit.

“Our feeders give me so much confidence to turn to post, against Bath as a team we were sighting the shooters early,” Tchine added.

“Even if the shooter wasn’t on, we had a goal attack coming in.”

Pulse equalled their highest goal tally of the season, also set against Bath in Round 4, falling agonisingly short of the 77 goals that would be a new franchise record.

Tchine was on the end of almost everything, missing just one of her 59 shots for a 98% shooting performance. Nichole Taljaard made her first start and showed off her playmaking skills with 32 successful feeds to go with a perfect eight from eight shots. Berri Neil took advantage of a first half rest to dazzle in the second half with 16 successful feeds from 17 attempts, and 10 goals from her 11 attempts.

It was a display head coach Sam Bird called ‘a Pulse performance’ with the full 12 called on to play their part.

Bird and her squad pride themselves on their defensive skills across the court, winning ball being the catalyst for the attacking game to thrive – as ever defence was at the heart of the performance with 15 interceptions and 27 deflections but it was the attack that flowed.

Both players and coaches have been telling us about the hard work that has been going on in the training court. By Bird’s own admission the early season work at the front end was a little ‘sticky’ and ‘clunky’ but it was a different story on Saturday night at the Copper Box.

“I was very pleased with how we attacked through the court, it was a nice mix of discipline but creative playing – and we found Olivia under the post so well,” Bird told us after the game.

“They went short, they went long, they saw the open ball and it’s so nice to give really skillful players the freedom to play good netball and put 76 goals on the board.”

So what goes into such a performance. A lot of work to start with, but Tchine takes us inside the plan and it’s plain to see that it starts – and ends – with very good players.

“I love every single attacking player we have! It doesn’t matter what combination it is, I know I have attackers in front of me that can do their job and do it really really well.”

Pulse recruited South African star Taljaard in the summer and she is adjusting to life in the Superleague well – adding depth to the shooting options that Bird has on offer.

A pair of England Roses make up the attacking options, with Neil and Scholes continuing to thrive, and the emergence of Izzi Phillips has increased the options for the coaching staff.

Training against defenders like Halimat Adio and Funmi Fadoju can only improve and Tchine revealed just how big a part the training sessions play in getting the team ready.

“I love training with them as much as playing with them. We have international players like Nichole, and England players like Berri and Liss, Zara and Izzi is coming through too.

“Sighting the shooter is something we have been trying to implement in training, trying to practice – but also knowing if it’s not on, being able to play another option.”

Bird has already underlined the importance of a plan when speaking about the journey the team are on. With ten rounds under their belt the remainder of the season looks set to be an exciting one in the chase for the top four and the evolution of a playing style that sets out to excite – and win.