Netball royalty honoured
Noeline Taurua has been made a dame for her part in the Silver Ferns’ World Cup success, but says that triumph was only the start of her contribution to the sport in New Zealand.
The Ferns stunned the world in Liverpool in July, knocking off hosts England in the semifinals, then edging defending champions Australia in the decider, a little over a year after they hit rock bottom, when they failed to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
Taurua’s appointment as head coach last August was undeniably the catalyst for that dramatic turnaround, and she said it was an amazing feeling to be recognised in the New Year Honours, even if she did have some reservations.
‘‘I must admit that I am quite uncomfortable about it, mainly because I acknowledge so many other people in our sport who have committed their lives and been involved for such a longer period of time than I have, who equally deserve to be acknowledged.
"But after talking to a lot of people and family and getting their opinions, I’ve got it in my head that it’s just the start of working really hard in the netball world and putting netball out at the forefront of other sports and this definitely does that.
‘‘I’m also really humbled and proud of receiving the damehood, not only on behalf of my family, but also our sport, so it’s very special.’’
Taurua joins Dame Lois Muir, who coached the Ferns to their first two world titles, in 1979 and 1987, in being made a dame for her services to netball, while Ferns captain Laura Langman has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Another of the key figures in the World Cup win, defender Casey Kopua, was already made an officer of the Order of Merit in 2011, alongside then-coach Ruth Aitken, after the Ferns won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
After three years in Australia, where she coached the Sunshine Coast
Lightning to two
Super Netball titles, Taurua has returned home to Pukehina, near Tauranga, and agreed to stay on as coach of the Ferns until at least February 2021.
‘‘I’ve been involved in the sport for so long and it does mean a lot to me, because it’s given me a lot, in regard to the networks and the travel, and the growth that I’ve had, personally and as a coach,’’ Taurua said.
‘‘Our netball community, we know each other and we’re very supportive of each other. I’m 100 per cent committed to the sport and I have been for a very long time, and the damehood, if anything, sort of charges me up to keep working, knowing I need to continue to raise the bar, and I’m really excited by that challenge.’’
Taurua played 34 tests for the Ferns from 1993 to 1999, before becoming a coach and leading the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic to national titles in 2005 and 2006 and the trans-Tasman title in 2012 – the only time in nine seasons a Kiwi team
won the competition.
Langman joined the Magic along with fellow schoolgirl Kopua in 2003, Taurua’s second year in charge, later following her to the Sunshine Coast, and was instrumental in the success those teams had, while also winning gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and 2010 and earning 163 international caps – the most of any Silver Fern. Like her coach, the tenacious midcourt player said she viewed her honour as recognition for what the team had achieved as a collective.
‘‘If anything for me it’s probably a reflection of what our group has been available and the journey that we’ve been on – 2019’s been pretty special.’’
The Silver Ferns are next in action next month, when they head to England to take on the hosts, Jamaica, and South Africa in the Netball Nations Cup. Their schedule for the end of 2020 is yet to be confirmed, though the main event will be the Constellation Cup against the Australian Diamonds – a series the Ferns haven’t won since 2012.
Langman is set to skip the Nations Cup, and while she has committed to another season with the Lightning, she is yet to decide whether she will follow Kopua and Maria Folau into international retirement or look to continue.
‘‘Over the past two years I feel I’ve done quite a lot of growing as a player and a person, and I’m OK with not knowing what’s next.’’