Now for the hard part for Taurua
After the low point of her coaching career last year, reappointed Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua needs to show she’s learned from the pain. Brendon Egan reports.
The Silver Ferns’ sloppy Netball World Cup showing last year should have left a sour taste in Dame Noeline Taurua’s mouth. How could it not. Taurua has been a proven winner everywhere she has coached, whether it be in domestic netball, in Australia, or with the Ferns.
Failing to medal for the first time at the 16-edition history of the tournament (the Ferns finished fourth), could have been a black mark against Taurua’s name.
She was retained as Ferns coach yesterday after Netball New Zealand (NNZ) opted to test the market when her previous contract ended in early February.
Taurua always looked the clear frontrunner and having to fight for her job re-energised her and gave her renewed purpose.
It would have taken a compelling candidate from overseas, who blew away the interview panel, to knock over Taurua.
Australian Briony Akle, who has coached the NSW Swifts to the 2019 and 2021 Super Netball titles, could have given her a strong run, but it is understood she did not apply. Akle worked with the Ferns at the January Nations Cup in England as an assistant coach.
Now Taurua and NNZ have agreed to a two-year appointment, the hard work begins.
Taurua’s contract length is interesting in that it won’t technically take her through to the 2027 World Cup. If all is going well and Taurua is happy to carry on, it wouldn’t be hard to see NNZ and her push it out a further 15 months, something Taurua confirmed yesterday.
Taurua must show over the next two years what the Ferns dished up in Cape Town at the World Cup was just a blemish.
There were extenuating circumstances. Losing star goal shoot Grace Nweke to a tournament-ending knee injury in their final group match against Singapore was a monumental blow.
Without Nweke, their attack was sluggish, they didn’t seem to have a plan B, and battled to establish cohesive connections.
The Ferns were a different beast with their talismanic 1.93m target healthy and back in the side for the final two Constellation Cup tests against Australia in October — matches New Zealand won.
Taurua needs to bottle those two performances and use them as the blueprint for the next pinnacle cycle.
In the fourth quarter, the Ferns stood tall and took it to a talent-laden Diamonds team, who led heading into the final 15 minutes both times.
Remembering the pain of Cape Town and building a squad who can challenge for a World Cup title in four years’ time has to be Taurua’s top priority.
Taurua has shown what she can do, steering the Ferns to a remarkable World Cup title in 2019, 11 months after taking on the job. A rare Constellation Cup triumph over Australia in March 2021 then followed.
This Silver Ferns side should be at its peak in Sydney for the global tournament.
Nweke will be 25, while standout centre-wing defence Kate Heffernan, who could be Ferns captain by that stage, will be 27.
Other key names such as Kelly Jackson (née Jury), Karin Burger, Maddy Gordon, Phoenix Karaka, Whitney Souness, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, and Maia Wilson should all still be in the selection mix.
Of the 2023 World Cup squad, Ameliaranne Ekenasio (who is now 33), Jane Watson (34), Gina Crampton (32) and Te Paea Selby-Rickit (32) might be struggling to return.
Taurua has exciting talent to add to the mix with 20-year-old shooter Amelia Walmsley impressing in her first taste of international netball last year.
Uncapped Mystics defender Carys Stythe, also 20, is highly regarded and it seems a matter of when, not if, she dons the black dress.
Taurua has to continue to enforce high standards from her playing group, including with conditioning — a hallmark of her Ferns’ coaching tenure.
Ensuring New Zealand are ruthless in high stakes matches against the world’s best, Australia, England, and Jamaica, must be another priority. Taurua would be the first to admit the Ferns have been patchy against their most fierce rivals in recent times, sometimes even intimidated.
She is going to need some help. Strengthening the high performance system must be a focus.
The ANZ Premiership flagship domestic competition requires refining. It has become stale and lacks the intensity and pressure cooker environment of Australia’s Super Netball.
What has happened to the New Zealand A programme? Fringe Silver Ferns performers need more and a clearer stepping stone to the next level.
Some trans-Tasman component at the end of the ANZ Premiership It would expose more elite Kiwi netballers to Australian opposition and their style.
A deep thinker of the game, Taurua will have learned plenty about herself from the Ferns’ Cape Town stumble. The next few years are a chance to make amends and get the side tracking on the right road to Sydney.
How they perform at that tournament will be her lasting legacy.