England netball’s Helen Housby targets her own date with destiny at the Commonwealth Games

Helen Housby has cleared her diary for the next two Sunday nights. First, she and her England netball team-mates have set time aside to watch their football counterparts in the Euro 2022 final.

‘We have already told our manager to make sure we have nothing in our schedule for when that game is on,’ says Housby, a county-level footballer in her teens.

A week later, she has kept her schedule free for what she hopes will be her own date with destiny.

Helen Housby admitted she and her Team England team-mates have cleared their training diaries so they can watch England in the Euro 2022 final against Germany

That evening, the Commonwealth Games netball final follows the women’s hockey and T20 cricket finals in Birmingham.

And Housby is eyeing a Team England hat-trick on what could be a second successive super Sunday for women’s sport in this country. 

‘That would be awesome, not just for us but for the other sports and all of the people watching in England, particularly the young girls who can see us as role models,’ says the 27-year-old.

Housby is already a role model to many young girls after her heroics on the Gold Coast four years ago. 

The Cumbrian scored the last- second goal that stunned hosts Australia and secured England’s first Commonwealth Games gold. 

And it led to the now iconic image of an open-mouthed Housby at the bottom of a celebratory pile-on, her tongue turned blue from drinking Powerade.

The netball star says the Lionesses success has inspired them at the Commonwealth Games

‘A lot of people talk about that picture, it’s quite funny,’ laughs the goal shooter, who plays for Sydney-based New South Wales Swifts. ‘I don’t regret the energy drink because it must have helped me in the game, but I probably regret opening my mouth!

‘That picture brings back a lot of fond memories and it’s one of the things I enjoy looking back at the most. 

‘I don’t really enjoying watching the game or the goal back because I still find it stressful. 

‘But it’s the little things after the match that are super special, like being on the podium and singing with your team-mates in the changing rooms.’

During those victory celebrations, Housby and Co could never have known how their historic win had captivated the country.

If proof were needed, it came at December’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards when the public voted Housby’s gold-medal-winning goal as sporting moment of the year. 

The Roses were also named Team of the Year, with the profile of the players and sport boosted like never before.

‘Having all of those eyeballs on us catapulted us into the spotlight and off the court things changed for me quite a lot,’ explains Housby. ‘My Instagram exploded and I started to get recognised quite a bit, which took a while to get used to.

Housby has already claimed gold with Team England at the Commonwealth Games before

‘A lot of things I would never have dreamed of also started to happen. My childhood team Manchester United invited me to a game. I sat in the directors’ box right behind Sir Alex Ferguson and I met Sir Bobby Charlton. That was my idea of heaven.’

For Housby, heaven would now be for England to defend their Commonwealth crown in Birmingham. 

The Roses finished third at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool after losing to New Zealand in the semi-finals. But they beat the Silver Ferns in a series last September and drew a match with Australia in January.

‘What we did on the Gold Coast proved that mentally we can do it on the big occasion,’ says Housby ahead of today’s first group game against Trinidad and Tobago.

‘I’ve got no doubt we can beat any team in the world and that’s hopefully what we are going to do this tournament.’

So, how would winning at the NEC compare to gold on the Gold Coast? ‘It would definitely come close to topping it,’ adds Housby.

‘I’m not sure if the circumstances of the win can ever be topped. It would be a lot easier if we did it a bit simpler and a bit more of a goal margin. But to go back to back would be incredibly special.’

England Netball are opening courts up and down the country, with taster sessions to inspire more people to get involved in the sport than ever before. See the England Netball website for details.