Nine days before they begin their campaigns on the Gold Coast, the Northern Hemisphere rivals fought out an entertaining friendly at the Silverdome as part of the Tasmanian Netball Invitational Series.

Separated by the Irish Sea at home, the UK neighbours were separated by 18 goals in Launceston as Wales won 54-37.

“They beat us by about 15 goals last time we played so with a 30-goal turnaround we take a lot of confidence out of that,” said Welsh coach Julie Hoornweg. 

“In the first half we controlled the ball and tempo and our shooting was sensational. The second half was a bit sloppy and we know we’re going to need four quarters if we’re going to do well at the Com Games. But a half if a start.

“The girls have loved Launceston. We went to the gorge and did a recovery session in the pool  and they just couldn’t believe the place was just five minutes from the city centre.”

In front of about 150 spectators, an energetic and often physical encounter saw Wales leap out to a 16-11 quarter-time lead.

Both teams are ranked in the top 10 netball nations, from countries with a combined population equal to Sydney’s, and gave the sparse but enthusiastic crowd a genuine insight into the speed and skill of the elite game.

Urged on by the energy of centre Kyra Jones, voice of goal defence Nia Jones and dead-eyed finishing of goal shooter Chelsea Lewis, Wales stretched its lead out to 34-19 at the main break.

The gap further increased to 47-29 at three-quarter time before the Irish narrowly edged the final term.

Lewis top scored with 34 goals from 44 attempts with Cara Lea Moseley adding another 16 but the truest aim of the night was Northern Ireland goal shooter Lisa Bowman who shot 17 from 19 at 89 per cent.

Netball Tasmania chief executive Aaron Pidgeon said the purpose of the series was to bring elite netball to a Tasmanian audience and thanked both teams for competing.

“We hope that the series provides a great environment to aid their preparations for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“As a Tasmanian netball community we need to continue to support elite netball competition in Tasmania to support out own efforts to one day potentially host a Super Netball team of our own.”

The match came 15 months after the Silverdome staged a match between netball’s top two ranked sides, Australia and New Zealand further demonstrated the venue’s versatility.

That thrilling Constellation Cup clash, which New Zealand won, was the first time the Silverdome had hosted Test netball since the West Indies visited in 1989.

The government-owned Prospect venue has also hosted two major boxing nights, both headlined by Rocherlea world champion Daniel Geale, cycling competitions including the Australian junior track championships and music concerts featuring artists from Elton John to Meatloaf.

Both international netball teams will return for more action on Thursday before further games in Hobart after which they will fly to the Gold Coast.

Wales will face Kate Upton’s Australian Netball League outfit Tasmanian Magpies before Northern Ireland take on Super Netball side Collingwood Magpies, coached by Kristy Keppich-Berrell.

The opposition teams will reverse roles at the Derwent Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

The Tasmanian Magpies will return to the Silverdome for an ANL fixture against the Firebirds on June 3.

At the Commonwealth Games, Northern Ireland has been drawn in Pool A to face host nationa Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados and Fiji while Wales has matches against New Zealand, England, Malawi, Scotland and Uganda in Pool B.