Bowman 'honoured' to make return after eight-year hiatus

Goal shooter Lisa Bowman said she had "goosebumps" playing for Northern Ireland in their opening Commonwealth Games defeat by England as she made her return to the international stage after an eight-year break.

Bowman, who helped NI to their highest-ever netball finish of seventh at the 2014 Games in Glasgow, also featured in 2018 at the Gold Coast before taking an international hiatus.

She missed the 2022 Games but made her comeback at the Hydro against the Roses, scoring 24 times in NI's 83-34 loss.

"I was so nervous but it was so exciting and such a buzz. The bigger picture for me is I'm just honoured to be here," she told BBC Sport NI.

Bowman believes NI have positives to take despite the scoreline, with her side remaining competitive throughout the four quarters.

"The win wasn't something we were seeking today, the focus was on us and what we could put out there," she added.

"We have a couple of games in our pool that we are targeting, today was just about our processes, seeing how we could execute them and what we could put out there as a team and as well as that getting everyone on the court and giving everyone the chance in what is a fantastic venue for netball.

"We're a gritty team and we'll never give up, we'll never throw the heads up, we'll push to the last quarter no matter what the scoreline which is what we're proud of."

She also praised the atmosphere inside the Hydro, with pockets of Northern Ireland fans dotted around the stadium that had a large English support.

NI will return to the same venue on Sunday to face Malawi in their second Pool A game at 14:00 BST.

"It's just surreal, I have goosebumps I think everyone is just thriving off it [the atmosphere] and everyone can't wait to come day after day and keep going."