The long-awaited Netball Super Cup took place at the Utilita Arena on Saturday 8 March to coincide with International Women’s Day.

After eight hours of uninterrupted play and 18 games each with seven-minute halves, 8000 enthusiastic fans witnessed London Pulse become the inaugural winners of the tournament after beating Leeds Rhinos 20-15.

Mesoma Osuji, 18, from Endcliffe, said it was a ‘huge privilege’ having a grand event in her university city.

She said: “The Supercup was the first netball match that I’d ever attended outside of school.

“The atmosphere was great – the crowd managed to keep the energy up well into the evening and each game was just as exciting as the last, especially with the addition of the new ‘Super Shot’ feature.”

This much-talked about element was inspired by the Australian Suncorp Super Netball League.

In the last five minutes of each half of the game, or quarter in the regular league, if a team shoots from a special area outside the main shooting circle, they can score two points instead of one.

Fans also got to see the two new teams introduced for the revamped Netball Super League 2.0 – Birmingham Panthers and Nottingham Forest.

Pulse fan Emily Jubb, 18, who lives in the city centre, said she was thrilled to see her side take home the trophy.

She said: “I really enjoyed the event. The new rules added a new excitement and even if teams had a big goal difference, it could change within seconds from the Super Shots.”

The Netball Super Cup has raised the curtain on the new-look Super League campaign which includes eight teams instead of ten and 50% of matches played in major arenas across the nation.

On her Instagram, Managing Director of Netball Super League, Claire Nelson described the event as ‘a moment that is history in the making’.

She also said: “We are here to build a women’s sport proposition that is so compelling, so exciting, and so meaningful that it inspires young girls to dream big, to know their strength, and to pursue their passions.”

The revamped competition gets underway Friday 14 March with Leeds Rhinos facing debutants Birmingham Panthers and Cardiff Dragons play London Mavericks.

Matches can be watched on Sky Sports, BBC Sports and Netball Pass.