England’s experienced players saw them through as they posted an opening 62-56 victory over Uganda in the Nations Cup on Saturday in London.
“We can definitely be a lot better than that,” Helen Housby told Sky Sports, having made her 99th England appearance.
“Uganda came out and really gave it to us – but we can definitely be cleaner.
“I have experience of these kind of games and you have to be in the situation to learn how you’ll react. Some of these girls are still learning how to play in front of a crowd like this.”
Uganda came into the clash having never beaten England in their history, but the Roses only led by one goal heading into the final quarter, before seeing out the win.
“I trust the team,” head coach Jess Thirlby told Sky Sports.
“When you’re playing a series when you have different teams coming up the next day you have to deal with the game in front of you, and also think ahead about what it’s telling us about tomorrow as well.”
Earlier on Saturday, Australia registered a 63-50 win over world No 2 side New Zealand in the Nations Cup curtain-raiser.
England next face world champions Australia in their second clash on Sunday, live on Sky Sports at 4pm.
Australia have won all eight trophies they have contested since the start of 2022, including the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 World Cup in Cape Town.
