Aussie men’s netball team break silence after copping backlash for ‘cringe’ viral N Sync performance: ‘Raygun levels of embarrassment’

The Australian Netball team have been battling hate from sports fans after they staged a sparky dance routine in Christchurch last week.

The Aussie side, known as the Kelpies, got the crowd on their feet with their smart moves staged to NSync’s Bye Bye Bye.

But a torrent of ugly comments on social media has forced the squad to ‘explain’ their motivations for the performance.

Kelpie Liam Forcadilla appeared on The Project last Monday to share the story behind the sexy routine.

He said that teams playing at the Fast5 tournament were all expected to perform a dance. 

Comparing netball’s Fast5 to cricket’s T20, the centre joked that the crowd were often ‘drunk’ ahead of the games. 

‘It’s just a bit of fun that the organisers like us to do pre-match,’ he added.

But a torrent of ugly comments on social media has forced the squad to ‘explain’ their motivations for the performance. Kelpie Liam Forcadilla appeared on The Project last Monday (pictured) to share the story behind the sexy routine

‘All the other teams got a dance out there. It’s pretty fun. It’s not something all of us are comfortable doing, but there’s also a solid half of us that love it.’

Forcadilla’s comments come after many fans roasted the performance.

‘This is cringe,’ posted one fan.

‘A big NO!!!!’ replied another.

‘Why does Australia have to constantly embarrass me,’ posted a third.

Others were quick to compare the dance moves to Australian breakdancing sensation Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn.

‘That’s Raygun levels of embarrassment. Genuinely shameful and I cannot believe they did it. Hope they got smoked,’ posted one X user.

‘Raygun was their coach,’ said another.

Comparing netball’s Fast5 to cricket’s T20, the centre joked that the crowd were often ‘drunk’ ahead of the games and the routine was ‘just a bit of fun’. He said that teams playing at the Fast5 tournament were all expected to perform a dance

On Twitter one fan moaned: ‘Congratulations, literally no man will ever watch the team play a single game.

‘No boy will ever want to be associated with men’s netball after this, how embarrassing,’ added another

However, there was also fans who thought the Kelpies stole the show.

‘Men’s netball is so iconic. All you haters can buzz off,’ posted one.

‘That was fun! I might even watch netball if they play as fun & good as they dance,’ said another.

To cap the dance off, the Aussies beat South Africa to open their Fast5 with a 42-27 win.

Unlike usual netball, Fast5 has just five players on each team, six-minute quarters, and two and three-point shots.

Fast5 is a little like the Big Bash of netball, the tournament boasts pyrotechnics, bright uniforms, loud music and choreographed team dances.