Six World Cups, 367 caps, two players, one transformed sport

Geva Mentor and Jade Clarke (left and right) airs with Jo Harten (centre) aft winning bronze medals astatine the 2019 Netball World Cup successful Liverpool

Amusingly, fixed she was connected the different broadside of the satellite erstwhile the occurrence played out, it is Jade Clarke who brings up the taxable of the fridge.

It was successful 2001 that Mentor, past conscionable 16, was called up to the elder England squad for the archetypal clip to instrumentality connected New Zealand connected overseas soil. The Silver Ferns would seal a 3-0 bid whitewash connected the court, but debutant Mentor was to assertion a longer-lasting prize disconnected it.

"It was rather funny," she recalls. "In New Zealand, [appliance manufacturer] Fisher & Paykel were the main sponsors.

"After the past crippled they organised a contention wherever some teams had to sprout a shot into an unfastened washing instrumentality - 1 you filled from the top. Everyone, players and unit from England and the Silver Ferns, stood connected the enactment and had a go.

"Old extremity keeper implicit here, who can't deed a station to prevention her life, managed to get the archetypal circular successful and past again successful the 2nd round. Eventually, I was up against the physio from the Silver Ferns. I got 1 successful and she missed again truthful I won - and the prize was a fridge!

"They were asking maine whether I wanted it to unfastened connected the near broadside oregon close side. I was lone 16 truthful had nary thought and was connected the telephone to my mum asking her."

More than 22 years later, the stainless alloy appliance inactive sits connected the upstairs landing of Mentor's mother's location successful Bournemouth.

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The bequest of the country's 2 astir experienced planetary netballers stretches acold beyond a two-decade-old appliance connected the southbound coast.

As England hole their bid for World Cup glory, fewer players tin assertion to person impacted the nationalist broadside much than Clarke, 39, and Mentor, 38.

Both played cardinal roles successful the Roses' ground-breaking 2018 Commonwealth Games triumph that propelled the athletics onto the beforehand pages and into the nationalist consciousness.

So sparse was netball sum erstwhile the brace started retired that Clarke was incapable to adjacent ticker a azygous England lucifer until the 2002 Commonwealth Games, conscionable a fewer months earlier her ain planetary debut.

"When we were increasing up it conscionable wasn't successful the media," she adds. "It's been specified a immense shift.

"Back then, our home league was conscionable watched by our household and friends. I had nary mode of watching England. I had an older sister truthful I'd ticker her play and I'd ticker the region seniors - players similar Tracey Neville and Karen Greig played astatine Greater Manchester, truthful I'd aspire to beryllium similar them.

"But adjacent though I couldn't spot it, I ever dreamt of playing for England. I wouldn't person thought backmost past that the athletics would get to wherever it has done."

Things person changed beyond recognition. In South Africa implicit the adjacent fortnight, the England squad volition person entree to the benignant of video analysis, information subject and precocious grooming theories befitting their presumption arsenic 1 of the champion teams successful satellite netball.

Yet acold from the nonrecreational set-up enjoyed by today's full-time and centrally-contracted players, Mentor and Clarke were raised connected a much rudimentary operation.

"We utilized to conscionable each different weekend, but would hardly person immoderate clip unneurotic to get everything done," says centre Clarke, whose 200 England caps are a satellite grounds for a azygous country.

"Now it's a full-time programme, truthful we conscionable Monday to Thursday each week.

"The coaches utilized to bash beauteous overmuch everything, but present we person a nutritionist, scientist and truthful overmuch much enactment each around."

Mentor, left, made her England debut against New Zealand arsenic a 16-year-old successful 2000

Given the close-knit quality of the sport, the brace person go accustomed to navigating changing relationships implicit the people of their careers.

While team-mates person travel and gone, others person go superiors.

At those 2002 Commonwealth Games successful Manchester, a teenage Mentor shared a country with Jess Thirlby, who is present successful her 4th twelvemonth arsenic England caput coach.

"We've besides got Sonia [Mkoloma], who is 1 of my champion mates, arsenic our adjunct coach, and Olivia Murphy, who was our method coach, was my archetypal England captain," says Mentor, who has played 167 times for her country.

"The quality of it is we spot everyone arsenic radical archetypal and past those roles second. You've got the foundations successful spot successful presumption of those friendships and from that you tin physique the respect astir the roles that they play successful netball. We are each fortunate capable that we get connected truly well.

"We've each been successful teams earlier wherever we've been young and you person a manager that is simply a batch older - similar being a kid astatine schoolhouse with a parent figure. Now we're older than immoderate of the staff."

That has imaginable to origin problems for players similar Thirlby, who was a adjacent for astir of Mentor and Clarke's careers, and present leads the squad contempt lacking her erstwhile team-mates' extent of playing experience.

Nonetheless, Thirlby remains successful awe of 2 players who person continued to defy property and withstand the intensifying rigours of a athletics that has go progressively professional.

"My overarching feeling is however bloody fortunate are we to person 2 of the oldest, smartest, astir knowledgeable players inactive playing astatine this level?" she says. "It's incredible.

"I was astir Geva erstwhile she archetypal came to a league astatine Team Bath and she was a gangly 15-year-old who tripped astir of america up successful training. It is unthinkable for those similar maine to person been a elder subordinate erstwhile she broke onto the country and present we're successful a full different lifetime, but she's inactive playing.

"They are some fantastic relation models and we're truthful fortunate they person stayed successful the crippled this long. They look bully though, right? They are similar good wines, getting amended with age."

Clarke (far left) and Mentor (second from right) observe with England team-mates Sasha Corbin and Ama Agbeze aft winning Commonwealth Games golden successful 2018

For immoderate subordinate progressive successful English netball implicit the past decennary determination is an undeniable consciousness of 2 chiseled eras: 1 pre-2018 and different post-2018.

When Helen Housby sunk her buzzer-beater successful the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games last 5 years ago, she not lone sealed triumph implicit the all-conquering Australians, but changed the athletics successful an instant.

For England, who had ne'er antecedently won a large competition, it proved they could vie with the ascendant confederate hemisphere nations.

"Before that, the different teams were enactment connected a spot of a pedestal," admits Mentor.

Of wider value was the interaction it had connected the crippled arsenic a whole. From thing of a niche sport, associated for galore with their schooldays, netball entered the mainstream.

"I didn't cognize astir the England set-up until I got invited for an England trial," says Mentor. "I knew determination was a nationalist side, but I didn't cognize what their nickname was oregon who represented them.

"It's truthful large present to spot much high-profile teams connected TV, being capable to travel the Super League, and being capable to ticker games overseas.

"For us, arsenic an England side, seeing the displacement successful the fig of radical successful the assemblage and pursuing on connected TV, it's truly shown wherever England places netball arsenic a sport.

"We didn't person the inspiration of seeing a nationalist side, but present we anticipation we are relation models for girls and boys coming done and wanting to play netball."

Earlier this summer, Mentor - who will articulation Super League broadside Leeds Rhinos adjacent play aft 16 years playing domestically successful Australia - confirmed she would discontinue from the planetary crippled aft the World Cup.

The tourney besides looks apt to beryllium Clarke's last outing successful a reddish England formal aft she was omitted from next year's cardinal declaration list, with Thirlby alternatively opting to ore connected a younger cohort for the adjacent four-year cycle.

But, dissimilar Mentor, Clarke insists she volition ne'er formally retire.

"I retrieve David Beckham ne'er retiring and thought I'd ever bash that," she says. "I'll ever beryllium disposable if they telephone connected me, but I'm not expecting the call."

Mentor (second row, 2nd from right) and Clarke (front row, acold left) played unneurotic arsenic successful the England Under-17 squad that won their age-grade European rubric successful 2000

With the extremity nigh, the World Cup presents the cleanable accidental for a imagination farewell. Tasked by Thirlby with "going wherever nary Roses squad has been before", third-ranked England are hoping to marque their archetypal last successful the competition.

They underperformed astatine past year's Birmingham Commonwealth Games, losing to New Zealand successful the bronze-medal lucifer arsenic Australia bushed Jamaica to gold. That trio of rivals volition again supply the sternest absorption if Mentor and Clarke are to adhd golden oregon metallic to their 3 bronzes from the past 3 World Cups.

"We've been to truthful galore World Cups, but we've ne'er breached into that final," says Clarke. "So, adjacent though we've been astir for truthful long, that's inactive a archetypal that we privation to achieve. That truly excites us. The last would beryllium the imagination - it would beryllium incredible. Every time erstwhile it gets pugnacious successful training, that's what you're doing it for."

Not that Clarke could ever person envisaged being successful specified a presumption much than 2 decades ago.

Back successful 2002, arsenic a wide-eyed teenager, she was handed an envelope astatine the decision of her England trial. Inside was a missive that would find her destiny of whether she had been selected to propulsion connected the nationalist team's dress.

"I inactive retrieve it truthful vividly," recalls Clarke. "My mum was with me. We ran outside, work the missive and we were conscionable screaming. To get into the squad was truthful big. I got to unrecorded retired my dream."

If she bows retired with a World Cup winners' medal, determination volition beryllium plentifulness much screams.

Mentor and her parent Yvonne observe an aboriginal England appearance

Clarke winning a trophy astatine Trafford Netball Club, her archetypal club