Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls secures 61-53 victory over England, claims Rhone Hornsby Trophy

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have won an exceptional victory over England’s Vitality Roses with a thrilling score of 61-53 in the finale of the inaugural Vitality Netball Horizon Series.  

The team claimed the Rhone Hornsby Trophy during the match held at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Tuesday. 

The four match Horizon series ended with a tough but exciting two matches on the Sunshine Girls home soil. The final matches in the series were played on Monday and Tuesday in Jamaica.  

Notably, the first two matches which were played in England ended in a 49-49 tie and a 56-47 win for the Britishers.  

The final match was very exciting as it started not being in the favour of Jamaicans as the team found itself trailing 4-1 after an early miss by Romelda Aiken-George but soon after both teams showcased their exceptional skills with England ending the first quarter with a lead of 14-11.  

At this time, the chances for Sunshine Girls’ victory seemed very less but they were able to turn the game and lead by halftime at 28-26. By the third quarter, Jamaicans were in a lead by four goals, and they ended the quarter by 42-39.  

The final quarter which was nail biting saw the team attempting their best to win the highly anticipated series. The Jamaicans maintained their composure and scored quickly to lead by six goals and ultimately secured a 61-53 victory. 

Rhea Dixon was named as the Player of the match as she was the one who secured the most goals and pushed her team to an exceptional victory.   

Although Sunshine Girls coach Sahser-Gaye Henry was not so hopeful that the team will achieve victory in this thrilling series, but the girls proved themselves and clinched the victory.   

Following the first leg of the series, Coach Sahser-Gaye Henry outlined, “I think we did great as a team and we should be proud of our achievements, maybe the last result was not we what we wanted but it’s something that we have to work through and try to come the last two games and improve on our performance.” 

After the final match, Henry expressed her pride and lauded her team’s resilience and called them ‘exceptional’. “To beat England is a big thing for us right now,” she added. 

Not only this, but Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness also was also present during the match, cheering on the girls and he also joined them on the stage while the huge trophy was being handed over to them.  

He took to Facebook to share the glimpses and congratulated the team for winning the trophy.  

Holness said, “Huge congratulations to our Sunshine Girls for defeating England and making us all so proud! Your heart, skill, and teamwork were unmatched today. We are celebrating right along with you—this win means everything!” 

Rhone Hornsby Trophy 

Notably, the Vitality Netball Horizon Trophy ‘Rhone Hornsby’ has been named after two inspirational individuals on behalf of England Netball and Netball Jamaica.  

 As the sporting rivalry between the two countries holds a fascinating history, the two nationa came together to host the Vitality Netball Horizon Series which they will be playing for the next four years.  

Securing this trophy during the inaugural series is a huge milestone for Jamaica and they are looking forward to improve themselves to retain the trophy next year as well.