As the saying goes, ‘Without failure there is no success’. For the England Vitality Roses Netball team, setbacks became the catalyst for growth, ultimately leading to their triumph in the 2025 Nations Cup!

Women’s sport is ever increasing in popularity evident in the choice we, as spectators, have at weekends both live and on TV. The 2025 Vitality Netball Nations Cup hosts, England Vitality Roses, continued to be a force to be reckoned with over the two weekends of the tournament. England, however, faced a closely contested match on 2 February 2025, at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham and had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats at home and at the stadium, with both teams level at the end of each of the first three quarters. On this occasion, South Africa managed to pull ahead in the final quarter, clinching a 61-59 victory over England.

This did not stop England from persevering and secured a spot in the final with a 59-48 victory over Uganda at the Copper Box Arena in London the following weekend. This win gave them the chance to apply the lessons from their earlier encounter with South Africa, and they rose to the challenge. In the final, they proved their growth and determination, turning past setbacks into a championship-winning performance.

England’s Berri Neil, Razia Quashie, Paige Reed, Olivia Tchine and Alicia Scholes celebrate the 2025 Vitality Netball Nations Cup win.

The defeat 61-55 highlighted their improved cohesion and execution on the court. Indeed, their performance underscored England’s commitment to learn from each game, refine their strategies, adapting and strengthening their team dynamics to achieve success against formidable opponents like South Africa.

What is adaptability?

In sport, adaptability is everything, particularly as a coach. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines adaptability as

the capacity to make appropriate responses to changed or changing situations; the ability to modify or adjust one’s behaviour in meeting difference circumstances or different people. Furthermore, according to the ‘Tripartite model’, adaptability also refers to an individual’s cognitive, behavioural, and emotional regulation (or adjustment) in situations of change, novelty, and uncertainty (Martin, 2017; Martin et al., 2013). Essentially, this involves the management, adjustment, and modification of one’s thoughts, actions, and affect, respectively (Holliman et al., 2021).

Adaptability and resilience are closely connected in sports because both help athletes and teams overcome challenges and perform under pressure. In such a fast-paced game every match presents a choice – either dwell on mistakes or learn from them. In psychological terms, resilience is the ability to cope with challenges and experiences of significant adversity in different contexts. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as:

The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress – such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. It means ‘bouncing back’ from difficult experiences.

Resilience is not necessarily a trait we’re born with – it can be developed through experiences, mindset shifts, culture, and support systems (Chemaly, 2024). A key factor in resilience can be having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family that offer encouragement and reassurance – this can be found in a sporting team environment. Whilst a resilient player may use mistakes as an opportunity to learn, it is equally particularly important to receive this support when mistakes are made to avoid letting this affect their performance.

Teaching athletes to acknowledge, review and strategise after a defeat allows them to manage the emotional response which comes with making mistakes. England’s netball team have always demonstrated resilience and adaptability in their encounters with teams, such as South Africa, turning past setbacks into valuable learning experience that have led to significant victories. This year was no exception. England knew they could match South Africa, but execution in high-pressure moments were key. Their loss forced a young and relatively inexperienced team to evolve, refine tactics, strengthen their mindset, and embrace change. Rather than fearing failure, they used it as fuel, adjusting their approach and building resilience needed to succeed and thrive on the international stage. Their ability to adapt turned past struggles into the foundation of the new team’s greatest victory so far – becoming the Nations Cup Champions!

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