Duo set to be back in black
Kiwi netball great Laura Langman’s long absence from the Silver Ferns is set to end with a recall to the national side.
The ailing Silver Ferns are poised to welcome back two of their finest players in history when the 2018-19 squad is unveiled in Auckland today.
Langman is expected to be joined by former skipper and defender Casey Kopua, whose return to the Silver Ferns was signposted by Stuff earlier this month.
With Noeline Taurua poised to be confirmed as head coach once her commitments with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia are over, the door has opened for the experienced duo to wear the black dress again.
Taurua has a strong relationship with Langman and Kopua, previously coaching them with the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
Taurua’s Lightning play Giants Netball in the Super Netball elimination final this Sunday. If they win, they would advance to the grand final against the West Coast Fever in Perth on August 26.
Midcourt standout Langman played the last of her 141 tests in October 2016. She hasn’t featured since then after controversially being barred by Netball New Zealand’s board because she was playing for the Lightning in Australia last year.
The 32-year-old took a break from the sport this year and has been working fulltime at Hamilton accountancy firm Deloitte. Langman would need to be aligned to a Kiwi domestic side for 2019 and is understood to be working through her options.
Former Silver Ferns skipper Kopua, 33, a 101-test veteran, will provide much-needed experience and another senior figure in the defensive end.
Kopua hasn’t played for the Ferns since the 2015 Constellation Cup and then gave birth to daughter Maia in May 2016.
She retired from international netball, but played for the Magic in the national premiership over the past two seasons.
There will be significant interest in the Ferns’ 2018-19 squad, which will include a minimum of 16 players, following their woeful results over the past 10 months. Janine Southby stepped down as head coach on July 20 after a damning independent review following April’s Commonwealth Games, where the Ferns failed to medal for the first time.
Taurua will clearly have had a massive say in the squad with selectors Gael Nagaiya, Ruth Aitken, Adrianne Hayes, and Jo Morrison, casting their eye over players during the national premiership.
The Silver Ferns’ next series is the Quad Series against Australia, England, and South Africa in September.
Established midcourters Shannon Francois (59 tests) and Grace Kara (63 tests) are in danger of being the most high-profile casualties from the failed Commonwealth Games campaign.
Steel midcourter Gina Crampton, who was unwanted for January’s Quad Series and the Commonwealth Games, looks set for a recall to the side, as does Tactix skipper and defender Jane Watson.