Sport Netball No. of teams 2 Most titles Australia (6 times) | Inaugural season 2010 Most recent
champion(s) Australia | |
TV partner(s) Nine Network (Australia)
Sky Sport (New Zealand) | ||
The Constellation Cup is contested by the Australian national netball team and the New Zealand national netball team. It is awarded each year to the team that wins the most test matches between the two, excluding games played as part of multinational tournaments such as the Netball World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
The trophy cup was first publicly unveiled in August 2010. Designed and made by Australian Michael Wilson, of Michael Wilson Diamond Jewellers, to be representative of Australia and New Zealand, its name is inspired by the Southern Cross constellation which appears on both nations flags, and artists from both countries were involved in the manufacture of the cup. It consists of a 3 kilogram sterling silver cup encrusted with 101 diamonds, with a display case crafted from black maire (Nestegis cunninghamii), a wood species native to New Zealand. The display case was made by a New Zealander, Vic Matthews.
The governors-general of Australia and New Zealand worked in partnership with Netball New Zealand and Netball Australia to develop the cup concept and create the cup itself. The Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand, stated:
Almost 80 years ago, Lord Bledisloe, one of my predecessors as Governor-General gifted the cup that bears his name and which has come to symbolise rivalry on the rugby field between Australia and New Zealand. The Constellation Cup will provide an equally enduring focus for netballers on both sides of the Tasman and recognise the wide participation in the sport.
Both governors-general attended the inaugural game of the first Constellation Cup series played in Adelaide on 29 August 2010.
Australia became the first holders of the cup, defeating New Zealand 2 – 1 in the three game series of 2010.