KEY POINTS:
Australian coach Norma Plummer is disappointed Vilimaina Davu has retired before next year's world championships saying her presence was a challenge.
The New Zealand defender announced her retirement from international netball yesterday.
"I was thinking about retiring after the Commonwealth Games but thought I'd finish out the year
and reassess. I feel it is the right time now," said Davu, who will play for the Force in the National Bank Cup.
"It was an honour to represent New Zealand over the last six years. Every time I walked on court it was an amazing feeling. I am feeling a little bit emotional just talking about it. I will miss the girls very much."
Davu said she was not going to coach Fiji as has been speculated.
Plummer said Davu was one of the game's great characters.
"I had plenty of laughs with her. When she walked past, she'd give me a wink and we'd smile at one another. In the past I have said, 'How are you going, bruiser?' and she really appreciates that."
Plummer said Davu controlled the circle well and knew where to find her opponents' weaknesses.
"When it came down to speed and change of direction she struggled in those areas and we knew that is where she could be beaten."
Plummer didn't think Davu's retirement would necessarily give her side a boost. "I think we got that before. We walked away with the Fisher & Paykel Cup."
The coach conceded the New Zealand defence was still formidable, singling out Casey Williams as a player of the future.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken said Davu's decision came as a surprise but realised the player's heart and soul was not in it.
"My hope was that once the big goal of world champs came around that passion would come back for her but it hasn't."
Aitken didn't try to persuade her to stay. "A huge part of me would like to give her a good talking to and say, 'Look Vili, come on, just do it for another nine months' but in the end in something like a world championship you have to have that fire in your belly yourself.
"I don't think it is something you can talk people into. What I am asking them to do, the mountain they have to climb, is huge."
Aitken said Davu would rate among the great New Zealand defenders such as Waimarama Taumaunu and Bernice Mene.
"The amazing power that she had when she came out of that circle and her ability to turn a game. While she comes across as the 'smiling assassin' - off court she is just a honey."
While last month's loss to Australia has put some of the Ferns' experienced players under the spotlight, including Irene van Dyk and Temepara George, who some say have passed their best, Aitken isn't expecting any more retirements
"Certainly a series loss means that people do a bit of soul searching. Everyone does a bit of reflecting and thinks, 'Have I still got it in me to improve and do something better?' I believe everyone else will look in the mirror and say, 'Yes'. But it wasn't to be for Vili."
Vilimaina Davu
Born: Fiji, January 15, 1977
Caps: 61 for NZ, 55 for Fiji
Career highlights
* 2000-2006: Silver Fern. Member of 2003 world championship winning side and 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning side
* 2000-06: Canterbury Flames
* 2000-06: Canterbury
