The England Netball team are returning to Manchester city centre for another big international tie at the AO Arena.
With two more tournaments on the horizon, the Vitality Roses will be hitting the road once again to play a trio of matches between two old Imperial nations ahead of the 23rd edition Commonwealth Games getting underway next summer.
As part of the 2025 Vitality International Test Series, England will be facing back-to-back face-offs with New Zealand over the course of less than a week at two different venues, and one of them is our very own AO Arena.
While the final details and timings are still subject to change, the Roses will face NZ – currently the second best rated team on the planet – later this year.
Taking place this winter and spread across the span of four days, England are set for a weekend double-header at the Copperbox Arena in London (15-16 November), before heading up North to 0161 on Wednesday, 19 November for the closer in Manchester.
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Currently ranked fourth themselves in the World Netball world rankings, England enter these series following a successful international season last term, which saw them lift their inaugural Vitality Netball Nations Cup, beating current world number ones Australia for just the third time in history.
The games against the ‘Silver Ferns’ will also serve as a rigorous rehearsal for the second annual Vitality Netball Horizon Series, where they’ll play four more games with Jamaica; a pair will be held at the Coppebox and the final two will be played away in Kingston.
Last year’s tournament came to the AO as well, with England losing to the Jamaicans by 61-53 in the decisive match. Safe to say there are scores to be settled, and they will be even more prepared for the multiple rematches.
A Nations Cup to their name will certainly help boost confidence.
Jess Thirlby, head coach of the Vitality Roses, is already getting hyped up ahead of the competition.
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“Securing high-level, high-intensity series against the world’s best teams is always top of the agenda, not least as we build towards a back-to-back major tournament year with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2026 and the Netball World Cup in Sydney in 2027 just around the corner.
“We have both a long-standing rivalry with Jamaica, which we saw the renewal of last year in the hotly contested Vitality Netball Horizon Series, and a more recent competitive rivalry between ourselves and the Silver Ferns, serving up many tight contests.
“Both series will help test us and enhance our preparations for 2026, whilst also allowing our athletes to make their mark in front of our incredible fans.”
VITALITY INTERNATIONAL SERIES 🏀 ROSES VS SILVER FERNS!
Presale tickets will be available to Three+ mobile members from 10am on Tuesday, 5 August, via the venue’s own early access window from the same time on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, general admission goes live from Thursday, 7 August, with tickets once again for what is set to be an exciting day of family-friendly sporting action available from 10am.
Featured Images — Press images/AO Arena (supplied)
Sport
Jamie Carragher delivers damning Ruben Amorim verdict as pressure piles on Man United boss
Danny Jones
Jamie Carragher has delivered a damning verdict on struggling manager Ruben Amorim, as he has declared that his time in Manchester “HAS to end” after more than 10 months at United.
The retired Liverpool and England player spoke on the situation at Man United and what the future holds for Amorim on Monday Night Football (MNF), joining Everton icon Duncan Ferguson on the punditry panel for Sky Sports.
While he is by no means the first to ponder how the Portuguese gaffer is still in post, his most recent comments are some of the strongest by a popular mainstream commentator thus far, and also further stick the boot in on what he thinks is a United administration that is rife with poor decision-making.
Both he and Ferguson were far from complimentary about the 40-year-old head coach, with Carragher going so far as to label his time at Old Trafford as “a disaster”, both for the club and, ultimately, his career moving forward.
"We are only waiting for the inevitable" 😶@Carra23 says Ruben Amorim's appointment as Manchester United manager has been a 'disaster' for both parties 😬 pic.twitter.com/WxZ9uJ0XxX
‘Carra’ goes on to state that he believes “we’re waiting for the inevitable” and it’s now simply a matter of whenINEOS decide to sack Amorim.
As you can see in the clip, the former defender says that he thinks there is almost an element of denial among the Man United administration at present, with the owners, CEO Omar Berrada and Director of Football Jason Wilcox having already backed him so heavily both publicly and in the transfer market, etc.
Despite the evaluations on MNF last night, Sky Sports reports that Amorim still has the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe; however, it arguably serves as even more evidence to Carragher’s point that the hierarchy perhaps just doesn’t want to concede what would be such a huge admission and/or defeat.
In fact, ex-Premier League striker Alan Shearer also shared a similar stance on the most recent episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, in which he said: “I genuinely believe that the owners or the people that are running the club at the minute have made that many errors in the last two years or 18 months since they’ve been there.
He went on to add that “it would look terrible to admit another error and sack him”, especially after so much faith, investment and carrying out so much restructuring around him as the focal point.
Unfortunately, even club legends like Wayne Rooney are starting to express their doubt as to whether Amorim is the right man for the United job, though he does shine more of a spotlight on the dressing room and believes that someone needs to – for lack of a better term – give the players a kick up the arse.
Rooney’s remarks have gone viral on social media, with many noting that you can ‘hear the pain’ in his voice when talking about his former home and how the institution has increasingly suffered in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.
For context, even with multiple unwanted records being broken under Erik ten Hag, Amorim has not only got his team off to the worst top-flight start since the 1992/93 campaign, but has just nine wins from a total of 33 league games in charge of the Red Devils.
Carra goes on to insist that not only does this have to end “as quickly as possible” for the sake of the club this season and moving forward, but if the one ‘next big thing’ and one-time potential Pep Guardiola successor is to keep his reputation intact. The question is, do you agree?
You can see Duncan Ferguson and Jamie Carragher’s full assessment of the current situation with Ruben Amorim and Manchester United as a whole down below.
Ricky Hatton’s family share details of 18 mile-long Memorial Route next week
Daisy Jackson
A Memorial Route to celebrate the life of Ricky Hatton has been shared by the late boxer’s family.
The legendary sportsman and local figure was found dead at his home earlier this month – he was just 46 years old.
His family have now shared details of a procession which will take place next week, offering fans a chance to come out and pay their respects to ‘The Hitman’.
The Memorial Route will span some 18 miles and pass landmarks that shaped Ricky Hatton throughout his life and career.
It will begin in Hyde, where he spent most of his life, before heading on to the city centre for a funeral service at Manchester Cathedral.
Entry to the service itself will be by invitation only, but the lengthy cortège will allow plenty of opportunity for locals to pay their respects before then.
The Memorial Route will then wind up at the Etihad Stadium.
Ricky’s family has shared a map of the route and confirmed that it will pass pubs, gyms and other landmarks loved by the boxing great.
It will begin at The Cheshire Cheese pub in Gee Cross before heading on to The Harehill Tavern, and then up to the site of the former The New Inn pub.
The latter is a pub that Ricky’s parents ran, and in which his parents built him a boxing gym in the basement.
Though the pub is now closed and has been turned into housing, it’s here that doves will be released in his honour.
The Ricky Hatton Memorial Route will move on from here to pause at énergie Fitness Hyde Ricky Hatton, then to pass Hyde Town Hall and Betta Bodies Gym.
From here, it will make its way into the city centre, passing the AO Arena and making its way to Manchester Cathedral.
After the funeral service, the procession will finish at the Etihad Stadium – the home of Ricky Hatton’s beloved Manchester City.
The procession will begin at 9.45am on Friday 10 October, and is expected to reach the Cathedral for midday.
Danny Jones -
29th July 2025 
