The Constellation Cup is an international

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

competition contested by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series and have gone on to become the competition's dominant team. Between

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and 2019, Australia won the series on seven successive occasions. New Zealand won the trophy for the first time in 2012 and for a second time in 2021.

History

Background

The Constellation Cup was introduced by Netball Australia and

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

with the support of the offices of the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor-General of New Zealand. The concept was inspired by the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

, a similar competition featuring the

and

New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

s. The Governor-General of New Zealand,

Sir Anand Satyanand Sir Anand Satyanand, (born 22 July 1944) is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. Satyanand was chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in ...

, stated:

Almost 80 years ago, Lord Bledisloe, one of my predecessors as Governor-General gifted the cup that bears his name and which has come to symbolise rivalry on the rugby field between Australia and New Zealand. The Constellation Cup will provide an equally enduring focus for netballers on both sides of the Tasman and recognise the wide participation in the sport.

On 29 August 2010, both governors-general, Sir Anand Satyanand and Quentin Bryce AC, attended the first test of the inaugural

2010 Constellation Cup The 2010 Constellation Cup was the inaugural Constellation Cup series played between Australia national netball team, Australia and New Zealand national netball team, New Zealand. The series featured three Test match (netball), netball test matc ...

series played at the

Adelaide Entertainment Centre The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences bet ...

. On 5 September 2010, Anand Satyanand also presented the Constellation Cup to the first winning captain, Australia's

Sharelle McMahon Sharelle Jane McMahon (born 12 August 1977) is an Australian former netball player who captained the Australia national netball team. She played in the goal attack and goal shooter positions. Domestic career Born in Bamawm, Victoria, McMahon ...

Trophy

The Constellation Cup is named after the Southern Cross constellation which is featured on both the flag of Australia and the flag of New Zealand. The trophy itself consists of a 3 kilogram

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. '' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...

cup encrusted with 101

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...

, which equates to 3.38 carats. The display case is crafted from black maire. Its design was a collaboration between

n designer Michael Wilson, who made the Cup, and the

master craftsman Vic Matthews, who made the display case. The base of the trophy is made out of 5,000 year old ancient

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

red gum and in total it stands at 47.3 cm tall. The transportation box, which houses the Constellation Cup and display case, includes leather from the Distinguished Visitor's chair from the Australian Senate Chamber. The following words are inscribed on the display case of the Constellation Cup:

The great constellation of the southern sky, the Crux, or Southern Cross, shines down on Australians and New Zealanders, and has provided guidance and inspiration to them across the ages. A source of pride to both nations, its bright stars have come to represent achievement, optimism, aspiration and timelessness. Both countries claim the Southern Cross as their own, and it adorns the national flags of each. In netball, there is no fiercer rivalry than that between the Australian Diamonds and New Zealand’s Silver Ferns. The battle for supremacy on the court has been waged since 1938. This Constellation Cup is the perpetual trophy and symbol of that intense rivalry and the respect between these two great netballing nations. Forged from silver, to represent New Zealand’s Silver Ferns, and studded with diamonds to represent the Australian Netball Diamonds, this cup represents the pinnacle of Australian and New Zealand netball. It is a symbol worth fighting for, with the pride of each nation at stake. To hold this cup is a privilege.

Series

;Notes * In 2015, Australia won 202–200 on aggregate. * In 2019, Australia won 206–195 on aggregate. * The 2020 series was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. * In

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, Australia won 215–208 on aggregate.

References

{{Netball in Oceania Australia national netball team series New Zealand national netball team series Australian sports trophies and awards New Zealand sports trophies and awards International netball competitions hosted by Australia International netball competitions hosted by New Zealand Australia–New Zealand sports relations