Dame Noeline Taurua was stood down by Netball New Zealand, causing significant turmoil and uncertainty.
Yvette McCausland-Durie and Liana Leota were appointed as interim coaches for the Silver Ferns.
Netball NZ faces leadership issues, risking fan disillusionment and player exodus to other sports.
Suzanne McFadden for LockerRoom
The cracks in New Zealand netball’s already brittle armour have now deepened into gaping rifts. And the repeated blows are now striking at the sport’s heart.
In the 40 years I’ve covered this game here, there have been some dark days. Shockingly losing toIrene van Dyk’s South African side at the 1995 World Cup in Birmingham. Finishing a dismal fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, followed by a damning review.
Fourth at the last World Cup, after losing shooter Grace Nweke early to injury, wasn’t their finest hour, either.
Then there’s the recent turmoil and uncertainty surrounding the future of the ANZ Premiership and the exodus of key players – a drama still playing out.
But Wednesday’s bombshell eclipsed them all: Dame Noeline Taurua – the most innovative netball coach in the world, who delivered World Cup glory with the Silver Ferns six years ago – stood down by Netball New Zealand.
Could their timing have been any worse? Ten days before the Taini Jamison series against South Africa, with the team still to be chosen after last week’s training camp was postponed, and just as Netball NZ’s CEO, Jennie Wyllie, went on annual leave overseas.
Netball latest drama has kicked off while CEO Jennie Wyllie is offshore on leave. Photo / Photosport
It has compounded Netball NZ’s woes and further tarnished the sport’s reputation in the eyes of an already disillusioned public.
More questions than answers remain in this ugly saga. But one thing is clear: there have been shortcomings in netball’s leadership and governance going back at least six months. Unless the sport gets its house in order, and fast, it risks driving away its loyal fans and seeing thousands of players walk to other sports.
The biggest question is why the issues around the “proposed changes” to the high-performance environment haven’t been resolved by Netball NZ and Taurua. And what exactly are those issues?
We may never know unless someone spills the beans after it’s all settled. But in the vacuum, speculation abounds.
Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua puts the team to work in training. Photo / Netball NZ
It’s been suggested some players were unhappy with Taurua’s “old school approaches”. It’s hard to reconcile that with a coach renowned for her innovative, out-of-the-box thinking – who led the Ferns to one of their most decisive Constellation Cup victories at their last international outing. But, of course, things can change.
Unverified reports say a group of players – up to seven – took their concerns over Taurua’s leadership and communication style to the New Zealand Netball Players Association soon after a Silver Ferns camp in Sydney at the start of this year. Those concerns were raised with Wyllie and the Netball NZ board, and an independent review was launched.
Even with the findings of the review (which are confidential), an impasse remains between the coaching team and the sports organisation.
If there is a group of disenchanted players, how many are in the squad at this week’s Silver Ferns camp? Or are they all among those who chose not to be available for Ferns selection this year? We just don’t know.
Silver Ferns legend Laura Langman has spoken out in support of Dame Noeline Taurua. Photo / Getty Images
“We know Noels throws curveballs in her coaching. There were plenty of times as players we’d ask: ‘What does she want from me?’” Langman wrote. “But her style is bold, exciting and innovative. She’s tough when she needs to be, but always compassionate and fair – open, inclusive and honest.”
It’s not just Taurua who’s been affected by this decision. Her long-term assistant coach, Deb Fuller, and specialist coach, Australian Briony Akle, won’t be on the team bench for the three-test series that starts in Auckland next Sunday. Manager Esther Molloy remains with the team.
Yvette McCausland-Durie has stepped in as interim coach of the Silver Ferns. Photo / Getty Images
McCausland-Durie has a strong track record in recent years guiding the Central Pulse to three national titles. She left netball two years ago to focus on reopening Tipene St Stephen’s College with her husband, Nathan. Her last stint with the Silver Ferns was as assistant coach to Janine Southby during New Zealand’s descent to fourth in the Commonwealth.
Former Silver Fern midcourter Leota was technical coach of the England Roses for over three years, promoted to head coach when the team visited New Zealand in 2023 (and won the first of three tests). She’s now back home in Southland with the Steel.
Also called in to wrap support around the team this week are former Silver Ferns captains and high-performance experts Wai Taumaunu and Tracey Fear, and former All Blacks manager Darren Shand.
Former All Blacks manager Darren Shand is helping with the Silver Ferns.
The Silver Ferns should still win the series against the world No 5 Proteas, with Nweke given exemption to return to the fold, but the uncertainty around Taurua’s future will be unsettling for the players.
Netball NZ board chair Matt Whineray – the spokesperson in Wyllie’s absence – says negotiations are continuing to reach a resolution. But that’s highly unlikely to come in the next 10 days, and in just over a month, the Ferns will defend the Constellation Cup in four matches, their real test of the year.
If Netball NZ don’t move swiftly to settle this – either by reinstating Taurua, or appointing a new Ferns coach with next year’s Commonwealth Games and the 2027 World Cup looming – the fallout will be felt not only at elite level, but right down at grassroots, too.
Netball already faces a major challenge in keeping girls from being drawn to sports like basketball, volleyball and rowing, which dangle the lure of US college scholarships. It may still be the largest sport played in secondary schools, but those rivals are nipping at netball’s heels. It’s hard to see how the sport has future-proofed itself to stay relevant and exciting.
The Silver Ferns are due to face South Africa.. Photo / Photosport
That won’t be helped by a diluted ANZ Premiership – reduced from three rounds to two this season, and now farewelling at least nine top players to high-profile overseas leagues. The delay in confirming next year’s competition frustrated players and fans.
While losing their broadcast deal to Sky for 2026 was a punch to the gut financially, having the premiership on free-to-air TV, and in prime time, could be a major upside to capturing new audiences.
And the drama around a world championship winning coach, who was given a damehood for her services to netball, doesn’t exactly send a positive message to girls and women considering volunteering as coaches. As it stands, only one in five coaches in New Zealand sport is female.
