Taurua out with Covid for start of Ferns play
Netball New Zealand has confirmed Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua has not joined the Silver Ferns in camp after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Netball World Cup-winning coach will miss the leadup to the four-day series beginning tomorrow against New Zealand A, New Zealand Men and a New Zealand Mixed Invitational team. She is aiming to link up with the team later this week after completing self-isolation and a series of negative tests.
Assistant coach Debbie Fuller will step into the head coach role with Reinga Bloxham, who was due to guide the New Zealand A side, to act as her assistant.
The New Zealand A team will now be cocoached by Marianne Delaney-Hoshek and Yvette McCauslandDurie.
Netball NZ head of high performance Keir Hansen said while it was hugely disappointing not to have Taurua with the Silver Ferns, they had prepared for various scenarios in the current climate.
‘‘Covid is very much still playing a part in the sporting landscape and our planning leading into the Cadbury Netball Series included the options we would need to take if management were affected,’’ he said.
‘‘Dame Noeline will remain in touch with the team remotely and will return as soon as she is allowed to. This will also be an opportunity for our high performance coaches to step into the breach and continue the hard work to prepare our athletes for the Commonwealth Games.’’
Fuller, Taurua’s assistant at the successful 2019 Netball World Cup campaign, was happy to step up for a series shaping as ‘‘a really important part of our preparation for this month’s Commonwealth Games’’.
Meanwhile, the Silver Ferns’ preparations for the World Cup are set to continue with a muchanticipated series in September against Jamaica for the Taini Jamison Trophy.
Netball New Zealand confirmed it will host the Sunshine Girls for the first time since 2018.
The two teams go back-to-back on September 17 and 18 at GLOBOX Arena, Claudelands in Hamilton before the series concludes at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland on September 21.
Taurua said she was excited to go head-to-head with the Sunshine Girls in a three-match series for the first time as head coach, and the Taini Jamison Trophy added to an already bumper calendar for her side this year.
Jamaica beat the Silver Ferns, Fiji and Malawi to win the trophy in 2018.
The Silver Ferns beat the Sunshine Girls in their most recent encounter at the Nations Cup in England two years ago.