Netball World Cup: Wales fade against Malawi to lose again

Wales lost the final quarter 21-10 as Malawi pulled away

Wales lost for the fourth time in a row at the Netball World Cup as Malawi finished strongly to win 71-52.

The sides were tied 29-29 at half-time but Wales failed to stay in touch with their opponents, who are two places above them in the world rankings.

Trish Wilcox's side will now meet Uganda in Sydney on Sunday in the 7th/8th place play-off match.

She said: "We were in that game for three-quarters of it. Some passing errors at crucial times let us down."

Wales won 49-47 when they faced Uganda in the tournament's first group stage. Other notable victories over Fiji and Zambia saw Wales qualify for the next group stage as one of the top eight seeds.

But the step up in class has proved beyond them, losing heavily to holders, Australia, England and South Africa.

"I'm very proud of my players, they've given so much this week," Wilcox added.

"We've played number one, number three, number five, six and seven in the world so the majority of our games have been against teams that are ranked higher than us.

"The girls are obviously disappointed but they'll turn this around and come out fighting against Uganda.

"It's our last game and we'll put everything out on the court tomorrow and I know that's what the girls will want to do."

Malawi will face South Africa in the 5th/6th place play-off match. The final will be between Australia and New Zealand, with England facing Jamaica in the bronze medal match, all to be played on Sunday.