Dame Noeline Taurua reappointed as Silver Ferns head coach on two-year contract

Dame Noeline Taurua will resume her role as head coach of the Silver Ferns, however her new contract won’t take her through to the next Netball World Cup – yet.

Taurua, who has been at the helm of the national team since 2018, was re-signed on a two-year deal with an eye toward the tournament in Sydney in 2027, with the new contract leaving room for change if it’s needed.

“My intention, Netball New Zealand’s intention, is four years to the Netball World Cup,” Taurua told Newstalk ZB.

“However, because I’ve been around the track for a wee while, there is an element of risk that either I can’t deliver, Netball New Zealand can’t deliver, or we don’t like each other as it progresses along.

“[Two years] is a stage to track as to how we are progressing against certain evidence but also make sure that both parties are happy. It also ensures that there’s enough time for somebody else to come in if a replacement needs to happen for the Commonwealth games or Netball World Cup.”

Taurua has been in the position since 2018, leading a stark turnaround as the team claimed the 2019 World Cup title after missing out on the medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

However, the Silver Ferns had their worst-ever performance at a World Cup last year when they finished fourth in South Africa.

Taurua retained her role after having to go through the process of reapplying and interviewing for it, after Netball New Zealand opted to open the role to applicants when the 56-year-old’s contract expired in January.

It was a decision made in consultation with Taurua, who said she was actually excited about having to go through the process to secure the job.

“To be honest, I wasn’t too sure if I had anything else to offer,” she admitted.

“That’s probably why I was excited about going through the process, because I dug a little bit deeper and found there was something else I could do in the programme and to make it move and be better.

“Because of that process, I was able to voice it, be open and transparent about what I think, then leave it up to others to decide am I the right person or not.

“Whether I was or not, that wasn’t the fact. It was making sure we do what’s right for the sport, also the integrity or me as a person and of Netball New Zealand.”

Secured in the role for another two years, Taurua will now turn her attention to building for not just the next World Cup but the future of the sport in general.

She noted that New Zealand’s last World Cup win, which came under her watch in 2019, was their first in 16 years and that there was not a great succession plan in operation to replace key players when they are unavailable or leave the game.

“When people leave, we don’t have the depth or the systems to be able to grow that within that time. If I took that same approach or wasn’t able to acknowledge that, then really, if we keep going how we’re going, we won’t win the next World Cup until 2035,” she said.

“For my idea, it wasn’t just about us or me as a head coach, it’s what was going to happen from an organisational, from a systems change, where the silver ferns fit and sit, what do we control? Where are we accountable? But it was also taking control of that and the commitment that’s required.

“Skill sets is really easy, we can do that. What else are the areas that we can squeeze from either a coaching perspective to be better, our coach structure to be better communication to be better, management to be better so that we’re more effective in the plans that we work on.

“But also putting it out there from a systems point of view. What are the areas that we need to improve on as a netball in general a sport so that we will play our part in us being in contention for the next World Cup? I was able to voice that and [am] quite rejuvenated because of it.”