Netball Super League | “New season, same me.” Liv Tchine ready to continue to shine for London Pulse and England

Image: Ben Lumley

Playing alongside the stars she grew up watching never gets old for Liv Tchine.

A superb 2023 season saw the London Pulse shooter regularly rubbing shoulders with the very best around, culminating in a precious place in the Vitality Roses’ 2023 World Cup squad.

It was there the 23-year-old was able to spend hours being coached by childhood hero Jo Harten, whose heroics in a red dress Tchine hopes to emulate.

“When I was growing up, Jo was that girl and she still is,” said Tchine.

“I watched Jo play a lot and when we went to the World Cup and she was coaching, I was like ‘wow, I am being coached by one of the best shooters in the world’.

“Sometimes I do have to tell myself, ‘Liv, look how far you’ve come. You have gone from watching Jo to now you are being in the same team as her’.

“Being able to play with international shooters who play abroad is great, I learned so much from playing with Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell.

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A post shared by Liv Tchine (@liv_tchine)

“They are absolutely smashing it out in SSN and to be able to train with them, play with them, be on the same court as them and then just learn from them and try and put it into my own play and style, I really enjoyed that. Just being able to play with the best athletes in our country is sick. All of this, you don’t realise until you are sat there but I am making sure I enjoy every moment.

“There is some stuff that I have struggled with in the past but when I was in the England set-up, I was able to work on it everyday and then actually, I could do it. Little things like holding a second longer or popping out and coming back in.”

Tchine’s elevation to a regular face in England squads comes off the back of regular performances for London Pulse that have established her as one of the best shooters in the Netball Super League.

A total of 699 goals was enough to finish as league’s third top-scorer last season as Pulse finished top of the regular season table, and Tchine is determined to continue to improve despite the extra attention those numbers may attract.

Oooof, Liv Tchine 🔥🔥🔥

Smooth as ya like.#BBCNetball pic.twitter.com/oMQTml2LNZ

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2023

She added: “New season, same me. I am just really focusing on implementing everything I have been working on, internationally and domestically. I will be the same, just a bit stronger and feistier.

“Number one will always be being within the England set-up, I want to be amongst the best shooters. In order for me to do that, I need to be performing at London Pulse. That won’t change and after that, everything falls into place.

“I want to put myself more out there, I don’t know what that looks like yet but I want to go out on court and make a statement. I want to be able to go on court and people to say ‘I’ve just played against Liv Tchine, I know what it feels like’.

“I am not the type of person to shy away, I give back what I get given. On court, everyone just wants to be their best and that’s amazing. I do not take offence or have an issue with defenders doing what they need to do, I am never bothered about it, it’s just about how I overcome that.

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A post shared by Liv Tchine (@liv_tchine)

“I’m not the type to shy away, what you see is what you get. My personality will always be out there.

“Netball is not only a physical game, it is a mind game. You’ve got to be mentally strong. When you’re on court, you’ve got to be able to tolerate and take what comes. I just want to continue to be mentally strong and strengthen myself.”

Tchine’s strength in the circle will be key to Pulse’s aspirations this term, as they look to go one better than the Grand Final defeat they suffered last June.

The 23-year-old knows it will be a tough ask, but is adamant her side has what it takes.

She said: “There are a lot of positives from last season. Forget about finishing top, beating teams like Lightning for the first time, we’d never beaten them and we were able to do it twice.

“We want to continue to do stuff like that and still make history in whatever way possible.

“It is going to be hard. Teams are going to really make it hard but that [winning the league] is still the aim.

“We are going to fight for it. It is about what we do. Everyone else can do what but as long as we are on point, doing our own job, I don’t see why not.”

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