O'Hanlon: Northern Ireland's World Cup qualification 'surreal' after East Kilbride success
Northern Ireland vice-captain Caroline O'Hanlon said "not many outside of our camp expected us to qualify" after Northern Ireland and Scotland secured places at the 2027 Netball World Cup in Australia following qualifying matches in East Kilbride on 27 September 2026. Sheonah Forbes' side reached the tournament with wins over Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland will return to the World Cup for the first time since 2019 after missing the 2023 edition in Cape Town. World-ranked number 15 Northern Ireland recorded an emphatic 73-50 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their final qualifier, but that result alone did not guarantee one of the two automatic qualification slots. Scotland's narrow win over Wales in Sunday's later game ensured both Scotland and Northern Ireland qualified, with Wales, ranked ninth in the world, missing out.
Reacting to the qualification, O'Hanlon highlighted the immediate response from supporters, saying: "It's so exciting, even since Friday, we've been inundated with well wishes and messages from home and people watching the games on BBC. It's been brilliant to have that exposure."
O'Hanlon described the moment as hard to take in and praised the squad's determination, saying: "It just seems surreal. We've been training away and we knew we had that potential, but obviously potential is one thing, getting it over the lines is a different thing and I am so proud of the group that we were able to get it over the line."
She outlined the tension of the final day, adding: "It was a real rollercoaster of a day. Obviously we started out with a hard-fought win against the Republic of Ireland, but we knew that we were still relying on Scotland. That match was just up and down the whole way through, so we were nerve-wrecked watching that. Just sitting in the stands, not being able to control anything, was nerve-wracking."
O'Hanlon, who was captain when Northern Ireland finished 10th at the World Cup seven years ago and is 31 years old, reflected on the location of the 2027 tournament and the squad's ambitions. "The last one we were at was in Liverpool and there was a lot of home support, but Sydney is the home of netball at the minute," O'Hanlon added. "Sydney is the centre of the best league in the world. It'll be a brilliant spectacle and it's just class to be a part of it."
On the team's objectives for Australia, O'Hanlon said: "The group will be going into the games not just to experience, not just to learn, but to actually go on and compete and try to win games and get results. That's the next step for us really."