Netball star Iona Christian has revealed how turning her back on England to play for Scotland has made her Glaswegian dad proud.And the 25-year-old’s talents have even convinced her English mum to back the Scots who head out to the World Cup finals in South Africa this week.She’ll come face-to-face with many friends and former teammates when the Thistles face the Auld Enemy on the sport’s biggest stage of all.Iona said: “This will be my first time coming up against England.“It will feel strange.
I’ve grown up playing with quite a few of the girls in that squad but I’m looking forward to it.“We’re ranked 10th while England are a top-four team.
But we can definitely challenge them in periods of the game and give them plenty to think about.”Scotland know they’ll be underdogs for the clash – currently 16/1 with McBookie.Iona fell out of love with the sport during Covid but was asked to look at joining the Scots team.
It means she is following in the footsteps of her Manchester United hero Scott McTominay who switched to Scotland thanks to his Helensburgh dad Frank, despite being born in England.Iona, who plays centre with the Manchester Thunder netball side, said: “It’s also made my dad very pleased.
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