Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken was offering no excuses after her team lost last night's World Netball Championship final 42-38 in the closing minutes to arch-rivals Australia.

Down 20-27 at halftime, the Silver Ferns refused to roll over and fought every inch of the way, closing to within a goal with three minutes remaining only to see the Australian poise under intense pressure bring them through.

After the match Aitken said that they worked so hard to get into it but Australia put up a good defense at the end of the day.