Team Bath end Netball Super League stay with loss

Cardiff Dragons will feature in next season's competition but Team Bath will not be part of the relaunched league

Team Bath’s final game as a Netball Super League side ended in a 58-41 defeat away against Cardiff Dragons.

Five-time Super League champions Bath have not been included in the relaunched Netball Super League (NSL), which will reduce from 10 to eight teams from the start of next season.

Cardiff, who have made the cut following their move to the larger Utilita Arena, dominated the first half and had a commanding 37-18 lead at half-time.

Bath improved in the second half, outscoring the Dragons 24-21, but they could not make up the deficit, as Georgia Rowe’s 35-goal tally helped Cardiff on the way to a resounding victory.

The win sees Cardiff finish eighth in the NSL, the first time they have finished above the bottom two since 2019.

Defeat means Bath end their final season in the NSL at the foot of the table, having won just one of their 18 games this campaign.

Elsewhere, league leaders Manchester Thunder enjoyed a 68-32 win at Leeds Rhinos while Loughborough Lightning beat Severn Stars, who will also not feature in the relaunched league, 72-60.

Two more teams playing their final Super League games, Strathclyde Sirens and Surrey Storm, faced each other and it was the English team that came out on top, winning 58-51.

Finally, Saracens Mavericks and London Pulse fought out a 54-54 draw.

Next season's revamped league will feature two new sides, Nottingham Forest Netball and Birmingham Panthers.

Manchester Thunder, Loughborough Lightning, London Pulse and Severn Stars had already confirmed their places in the finals stage.

But the win for Lightning secured home advantage against Pulse for their semi-final on 22 June.