Netball: Rams lose opener against Northern Ireland

IoM beaten by high-ranked and clinical first opponent

The Manx Rams have suffered defeat in their opening contest of the 2024 Europe Netball Open with a 29-70 loss against a clinical Northern Ireland.

The Island hosts made a positive start against a Northern Ireland side ranked eleventh in the world with the scores close at 10-16 to Northern Ireland after the first quarter.

Going into the second quarter, Northern Ireland began to extend their advantage with some clinical finishing to lead 14-30 at the halfway stage.

Whilst the Rams managed to chip away on the scoreboard in quarters three and four to amass nearly 30 points in total, they were unable to halt the command of a Northern Ireland side who hit the 50-point mark by the end of quarter three before taking another 20 in the remaining 15 minutes.

The Isle of Man's next match will be against United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 7pm - it's one of five games in total taking place throughout today (16 May).

You can view the full schedule for the four-day tournament HERE - all games from the series are being livestreamed via the Europe Netball TV YouTube channel.