Simone Forbes, first vice-president of Jamaica Netball (JN), says the association is extremely proud and ecstatic after the Sunshine Girls moved up to third in the latest International Netball Federation rankings.

The Sunshine Girls, coached by Sasher-Gaye Henry, leapfrogged their bitter rivals, the England Roses, to claim the number three spot.

The Jamaicans, who recently defeated the Roses 2-1 in their four-match Horizon Series, have 189 rating points, one ahead of England. The Roses have played 58 matches compared to the Sunshine Girls’ 44.

Australia lead the standings with 204 points, ahead of New Zealand with 192.

“We are extremely pleased and we are extremely happy. It is Merry Christmas for us,” said Forbes.

“We went into this series against England with the intention of making some movement in the rankings. I think it is a nice end to 2024. We are going into January against South Africa in third place, so it just kind of puts things into perspective for the team,” she said.

The Sunshine Girls are to host South Africa in a three-Test series.

Forbes, a former Sunshine Girls captain, noted that it is crucial for the Jamaicans to win this series against the Africans to ensure they maintain their position in the rankings or even move up to second place, overtaking New Zealand.

“This series against South Africa is very crucial to ensure that we end 2024-2025 in third. But I am very happy for the ladies because they deserve it, having that win in the Horizon Series,” she stated.

“Second place is very close to us, and so, for the next international window in 2025-26, we will have the Horizon Series again. We are hoping to have another series during that window, and if we are successful, it is quite possible we could move up to second provided that New Zealand do not win their matches against Australia. The more we win, the closer we get to first place. If they stay second and we win more matches, then absolutely second place is within our grasp,” Forbes pointed out.

Forbes said that the top five teams in the world are very close to each other, and this makes the 2027 Netball World Cup in Australia an exciting prospect.

“It just shows that the top five teams in the world are closely matched, and it also shows that the 2027 World Cup in Australia is going to be quite interesting,” Forbes said.

Meanwhile, Henry expressed her happiness about the Sunshine Girls’ elevation in the rankings and emphasised the importance of maintaining this position.

“We are excited, because it has been a work in progress. I think winning the series against England was a great start for us because we came up against the number-three ranked team in the world, so it is quite a tremendous achievement for us.

“It’s about maintenance, and with South Africa coming up in January, we know it will be a tough series, but it’s a series we want to win,” said Henry.

— Robert Bailey