BOURNEMOUTH’S Geva Mentor watched her beloved Roses finally bloom and now wants world success to match Commonwealth Games gold.

England had not played in a major netball final since 1975 but edged out hosts Australia and silenced a partisan home crowd with their second buzzer-beating victory in 24 hours.

Jo Harken drained the last-gasp goal to beat Jamaica in the semi-final and Helen Housby held her nerve on this occasion to win a dramatic final 52-51.

It sparked scenes reminiscent of the women’s hockey team in Rio, as players rushed onto the court in wide-eyed disbelief, wrapping themselves in flags and crying tears of joy.

The final was always close as both teams went point for point, never building up more than a slender advantage.

It was deadlocked at half-time and level with a second remaining until Housby’s heroics.

“I’ve been at this for 20 years now and to finally achieve it in my fifth Commonwealth Games means everything,” said Mentor.

“It’s eluded me for too long but I never stopped dreaming about it.

“Hopefully this is the start of something amazing for the sport in our country. The big two in netball have been Australia and New Zealand for too long and it’s become almost stale. It’s just means everything to get out there and show the world what we are made of.

“The belief in this squad has been inspiring. I hope this lifts our profile, we know participation is high but we need more people to know what we are doing.

“We’ve got a World Cup in our back yard and it’s time to cement what we’ve achieved here.”

Mentor made her Games debut as an 18-year old in 2002.

Bronze medals in 2006 and 2010 were career highlights and a defeat in the third place play-off in Glasgow four years ago was her biggest low.

But now she has finally got a gold to show for the hours of toil - and, at 33, has no plans of calling it quits, returning to her club in Queensland next week.

“I’m just so proud of these girls and the sky is the limit,” she added.

“We’ve always had the skill and talent but sometimes you need to learn to win and that’s what we are taking from these Games.

“The body still feels great and I’ve got a long season ahead here in Queensland with my club but I want to be involved with this team for a while yet and a home World Cup would be amazing.”

Npower is the Official Partner of Team England and is giving our athletes the power of support by recording a brand new version of their anthem, Jerusalem. To listen to the track visit npower.com/teamengland