It's fair to say Taurua has been extended a warm invitation to Netball NZ's Tupperware party as much as former international shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti (nee Latu) was.
Frankly a poker-faced Tuivaiti would have offered more mongrel than Bailey Mes, who managed 57 per cent shooting in an unhinged performance against Australia.
While Tuivaiti laid bare her thoughts, quite often more candidly than a dogmatic society is accustomed to, on national selectors and other weighty issues, Taurua hasn't been that forthcoming.
Some scribes have been quick to label Southby a philosopher of sorts but the flurry of changes in the loss to the rampant Ockers suggests the structure is unstable and cohesiveness is lacking in matching the sixth sense of even England who looked in control as early as the tour of New Zealand last year.
In some respects, Southby's courtside manners are symptomatic of the way she treats some of her players — in and out of the squad more frequently than super models frequent runways or catwalks following costume changes.
Stubbornness at an elite level, even for coaches, is understandable and, to an extent, regarded noble but when statistics start mounting, as they have against Southby, there's nowhere to hide.
Her win-loss ratio hovers around the early 50 per cent mark and her record against the Diamonds is abysmal — two from a dozen since she took over the reins.
The problem stems from Netball NZ's doggedness in not letting the likes of Laura Langman ply her trade across the ditch and still be eligible for Silver Ferns selection. I wrote about it when the myopic decision surfaced.
To champion a domestic renaissance is a crowd pleaser because what you see on the international court is what Netball NZ set out to achieve — lift the standard of competition in the country.
It was obvious to all that Kiwi franchises just weren't cutting the mustard in the defunct ANZ Transtasman Championship in what was, after all, a one-sided symbiotic relationship.
Unreservedly, Netball NZ needed to eat humble pie and allow its elite worthy enough to make the grade to continue playing in an Aussie competition.
Instead, the national body reacted like a jilted lover who returned a year later to the school reunion to find their teenage crush dating a surgeon or a pilot.
Besides, aren't Netball NZ simply picking the ball and running with it just because the All Blacks have adopted a similar stance with their players who show interest in plying their trade abroad?
Let us switch lanes on the highway of transparency to matters pertaining to the Black Caps cricketers.
Why are fans so surprised to discover leg spinner Ish Sodhi and batsman Martin Guptill had no takers in the flea market of Indian Premier League (IPL)?
The IPL is no different to the Big Bash in Australia or the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where marquee imports are enticed to add spice to a competition comprising teams of predominantly nationals.
Regrettably, Sodhi was always going to struggle when Black Caps coach Mike Hesson kept marginalising his sense of worthiness despite a stellar effort in T20s in India and flirtatious fling in the Big Bash.
The sad reality for the 25-year-old Northern Districts Knights cricketer is that he didn't get enough time nor backing in his own backyard to develop or display his talent on the international stage.
What must feel like salt in the wound is watching Mitchell Santer, re-packaged as an allrounder for a lion's share of game time, overtake him as world No 1 T20 bowler.
Sodhi can try to be a mercenary like Mitchell McClenaghan but, in a country where tweakers can be found in every village playground, due diligence suggests otherwise.
Guptill's isolation from the international arena, coupled with injury layoffs didn't help his cause.
When he did return you somehow got the impression the Auckland Aces batsman was trying to tell anyone who cared that he was still capable of playing test cricket as he eked out a century against Pakistan in Wellington a fortnight ago.
The chances are that Hesson will find a place for him in the middle order now that his income has taken another hit.
You see, to acquire world's best status on a diet of crops cultivated in your backyard veggie patch was always going to be a false economy in India's eyes.
The only way the Black Caps can champion their viability and convince the world they are worthy candidates is to win a white-ball international crown or, better still, show they also can play test cricket against top-ranked nations away from home.
Pakistan, because of the threat of terrorism at home, have become a hybrid species playing on foreign soils, including adapting to the UAE venue.
