Wasps Netball

Wasps Netball were an English netball team based at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry, Warwickshire. Wasps Netball was formed in 2016 as a partnership with the Premiership Rugby team, Wasps RFC. Since 2017 their senior team has played in the Netball Superleague. They were Superleague champions in 2017 and 2018. The holding company for the team were placed in insolvency on 17 October 2022 and a new company called "Wasps Netball Limited" was incorporated with Companies House on 26 October 2022.^[1]

Wasps Netball

Founded	2016
Disbanded	2022
Based in	Coventry,
Regions	West Midlands
Home venue	Coventry Building Society Arena University of Warwick
Head coach	Cathrine Tuivaiti
Captain	Josie Huckle
League	Netball Superleague
Website
Uniform

History

New franchise

In June 2016 it was announced that Wasps, together with Severn Stars and Scottish Sirens, would be one of three new franchises that would join the Netball Superleague for the 2017 season.^[2] Wasps subsequently appointed Tamsin Greenway as their first director of netball. Wasps Netball was formed as a partnership with the Premiership Rugby team, Wasps RFC.^[3][4][5][6] In December 2016 Wasps defeated Team Bath 22–15 to win the Mike Greenwood Trophy.^[7][8] In January 2017 Wasps also played in Team Bath's pre-season Tri-Tournament.^[9] On 21 February 2017 Wasps made their Superleague debut at the Emirates Arena with a 57–43 win against fellow newcomers Sirens.^[5][10] On 5 March 2017 Wasps made their home Superleague debut at the Ricoh Arena with a 51–47 win against Hertfordshire Mavericks.^[11]

Superleague champions

Wasps were Superleague champions in 2017 and 2018.^[12][13] In 2017, with a team that included Tamsin Greenway, Rachel Dunn, Bongiwe Msomi and Natalie Haythornthwaite, Wasps defeated Loughborough Lightning 55–51 in the grand final.^{[14][15][16][17]} In 2018 Wasps retained the Superleague title after again defeating Loughborough Lightning 55–51 in the grand final. The winning squad included Greenway, Dunn, Haythornthwaite, Samantha May and Jade Clarke.^[18][19][20]

Demise

Wasps Netball were placed into administration on 17 October 2022 with all their playing and coaching staff made redundant.^[21]

On 10 November 2022, England Netball announced that Wasps Netball would no longer be eligible to compete in the Netball Super League moving forwards.^[22]

Senior finals

Netball Superleague Grand Finals

Between 2017 and 2019 Wasps have played in three successive Netball Superleague grand finals.^[12]

Season	Winners	Score	Runners Up	Venue
2017[15][16]	Wasps	55–51	Loughborough Lightning	Barclaycard Arena
2018[18][19][20]	Wasps	55–51	Loughborough Lightning	Copper Box Arena
2019[23][24]	Manchester Thunder	57–52	Wasps	Copper Box Arena

Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship

Wasps have played in two British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship finals.^[12]

Season	Winners	Score	Runners Up	Venue
2018 [25]	Wasps	42–32	benecosMavericks	Copper Box Arena
2019 [26][27]	Loughborough Lightning	61–35	Wasps	Copper Box Arena

Home venue

Wasps played their home games at both the Coventry Building Society Arena and in the Sport and Wellness Hub at the University of Warwick. The team also trained at the University of Warwick.^{[3][4][12][13]}

Notable players

2023 squad

2023 Wasps Netball roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Cathrine Tuivaiti GS 25 October 1986 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Chloe Essam GA, GS 9 December 1999 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Rachel Dunn GS, GA 14 November 1982 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Georgia Lees C, WA 15 February 1994 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Josie Huckle GD, GK 24 September 1991 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Ella Powell-Davies GD, WD 18 March 1999 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) Leah Goss C, WD 27 November 1998 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Lauren Nicholls WD,GD, C 26 March 1991 – Rachael Fee GD, GK 19 September 2001 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Peace Akinyemi GK, GD 24 September 2003 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Hannah Diamond WA, GA 17 October 2003 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Beth Gabriel GA, GS –	Head coach Cathrine Tuivaiti Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player
Player profiles: Team website	Last updated: 8 October 2022

Internationals

 England

Jade Clarke Rachel Dunn Chloe Essam George Fisher

Tamsin Greenway Natalie Haythornthwaite Francesca Williams

 South Africa

• Bongiwe Msomi
• Renske Stoltz

Head coaches

Coach	Years
Tamsin Greenway[4][28]	2016–2018
Mel Mansfield[29][30]	2018–2022
Cathrine Tuivaiti[31][32][33][34]	2022–2023

Honours

• Netball Superleague
  • Winners: 2017, 2018: 2
  • Runners up: 2019: 1
• British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship
  • Winners: 2018: 1
  • Runners up: 2019: 1
• Mike Greenwood Trophy
  • Winners: 2017: 1