J'AIME JUNE 2018

into a full international and SuperLeague regular
with Loughborough Lightning.
A wanderer at heart, Beth is doubly lucky because
her netball talent helps her indulge her other great
passion – travelling all over the globe.
She took a year off from the sport in her early 20s to
trek around South America and admits she has to
pinch herself at some of the places she gets to visit
and combine business with pleasure.
Beth said: “We had quite a long trip for the
Commonwealths because we went out there for a
few weeks beforehand, so we were away for five-anda-half
weeks in the end. We went to Sydney where
I’ve never been, and Brisbane as well. The whole
experience was just amazing, a once-in-a-lifetime
thing.
“That’s another reason why I love netball – it’s a job
that comes with a lot of travelling! In the past two
years when I have been playing for the seniors, I’ve
been to Australia probably five times, New Zealand a
couple of times, South Africa. It’s amazing really to
go to these places.
“Obviously you are doing a lot of netball when you
are there but you get the odd day’s
rest where you can go and have a
little explore which makes it even
better – it’s brilliant, I love it.”
There won’t be much travelling
for next year’s World Cup though
as England seek to build on their
Commonwealth triumph – it’s being
held in Liverpool.
And Beth won’t be at the Tokyo
2020 Olympics either. It’s not that
she wouldn’t get picked or that
England wouldn’t quality. It’s that
netball, amazingly, isn’t recognised as
an Olympic sport.
BETH COBDEN
WAS PART OF
ENGLAND’S
COMMONWEALTH
GAMES GOLD
MEDAL-WINNING
NETBALL TEAM
She says: “There is a lot going on to try to get it into
the Olympics. It is a shame it’s not there already
because it would be really good for the sport to have
another big competition to focus on.
“We sort of have a four-year cycle where we focus
on the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup
which are in back-to-back years, and then have a
two-year, kind of like, development stage.
“To have another big thing in there would be really
good. I think we just need more countries to play it
really and I think there is a lot of stuff in place to try
to get more countries involved.
“So fingers crossed in the future we will be able to get
it in the Olympics.”
Beth’s triumphant Commonwealth champions are
coached by Tracey Neville – a former England ace
herself, whose brothers Gary and Phil were famous
footballers for England and Manchester United.
The Nevilles are arguably the country’s most famous
sporting brothers and sisters – but the Cobdens give
them a run for their money.
Beth’s brothers Joe and Jack both play top-level
rugby – Joe, 26, for Nottingham and, intriguingly,
Jack, 29, plays out in Romania where he is now
actually eligible to play for their national team.
She smiles: “Jack’s a bit like me, got the travel bug!
He got offered a contract out there three or four
years ago.
“He’s got a daughter out there as well so he’s settled
and he really loves it out there. He’s had a few caps
for Romania and he’s hoping he can maybe end up
going to the World Cup.”
That would mean another trip abroad for parents
Pat and Ian, who took the last-minute decision to
cheer Beth on to glory Down Under.
She smiles: “It was all a bit last minute. You don’t
get picked until a few weeks before, that’s when they
announce the squad, so they weren’t sure whether to
come.
“But when I did get picked, they decided to go – and
they were really pleased they did!”
BETH IN ACTION VERSUS AUSTRALIA.
PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES