Family first as Kopua farewells Silver Ferns
If you choose to make a family, you’ve got to be a family.
That’s why Casey Kopua has decided to retire from the Silver Ferns, after an illustrious career, where she played 101 tests, 77 of them as captain.
Kopua had a daughter, Maia, last May, and it was her arrival that led to yesterday’s announcement, which comes with a Commonwealth Games 12 months away, and a World Cup a year after that - a tournament where Kopua has won three silver medals, but no gold.
The 31-year-old said the lure of those major events was always there as she made her decision, but in the end, her family won out.
‘‘There was an opportunity there, where I could go to the world champs, and I could possibly win gold, and that seemed all good in theory.
‘‘But the whole reason we started a family was to be a family, and I didn’t think it would be fair on myself, or Maia, or Terry [Kopua’s husband], to carry on.’’
In the buildup to the ANZ Premiership, which began last weekend, Kopua had talked about getting through the domestic season first, then worrying about the Ferns, but yesterday she confirmed she had been considering retiring for a while.
She said she was glad to have the weight off her shoulders, so that she could concentrate fully on the Waikato-bay of Plenty Magic’s campaign, which has started with a bang.
‘‘It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,’’ said Kopua.
‘‘It just felt like, for me to play the netball I want to, I needed to make the decision before the season started. I’m playing until June, and I can just give 100 per cent to that.’’
Kopua was first called up to a Silver Ferns squad as a teenager in 2004, but didn’t debut until the end of 2005, the same year she was a member of a world-title winning under-21 side.
That came against Barbados under coach Ruth Aitken when she was 20, and she has gone on to play at three World Cups and three Commonwealth Games, winning gold medals at the latter in Melbourne in 2006 and in Delhi in 2010.
Kopua’s last appearances for the Ferns came under Wai Taumaunu against Australia at the end of 2015.
Kopua said she has had a couple of conversations with new coach Janine Southby, but that there had been no pressure on her to make a decision, either way.