Janine Southby's appointment as Silver Ferns coach left the Steel searching for a late replacement just weeks before preseason was due to kick off and, as the national coach search revealed, experienced coaches are thin on the ground here.
To get to the point where Taurua was willing to take over the job from the woman who nabbed the Ferns role took a lot of self-reflection.
Taurua's initial feeling at being overlooked by Netball NZ was one of bitter disappointment. What hurt the most was being told the reasons for her not making the cut were not "performance related" - something she believed should have been the utmost priority for the top post.
While Taurua was reasonably guarded about what she said publicly, her friends and allies in the netball community were not so circumspect, slamming the national body for their handling of the appointments process.
But from the fall-out came some clarity for Taurua.
"I did a lot of thinking about what defines me as a coach and why I do it, what I love about it," she said.
"Opportunities don't come up very often and you have to take them when they do present. So I'm very grateful for the way things have worked and the Steel have given me the chance to do what I love."
Disappointment at missing out on the Ferns role has quickly given way to enthusiasm for her next challenge.
Taurua hasn't had a lot of time to get her head around the new role in the deep South.
Her appointment was confirmed last Sunday and she started in the job on Monday, spending this week down south getting up to speed on the ins and outs of the franchise.
She comes into the position with most of the planning for next season having already been done by Southby, who had to prepare for the 2016 campaign in case she missed out on the Ferns role. Taurua jokes she has enjoyed swanning in now that all the hard work has already been done.
"We're having to work very fast with it just being a week and a half until Christmas starts.
I'm really happy with the work that has been done so far, and a lot of planning had already been done and the foundations laid at the end of last season," she said.
"It's just really coming in and seeing what's been done and tweaking it a little to fit around my way of working."
In her first week Taurua has experienced plenty of what she believes is the key challenge for her side - travel. Given their geographical location, the Steel players clock up more miles than most of the other sides in the competition - a demanding schedule that eats into their recovery and preparation time.
"The travel that these girls have to endure week to week is a big thing to factor in. Every time they go anywhere it's normally two or three flights, and that takes it out of you. So the planning has to be really detailed to make sure the players aren't physically and mentally fatigued by the time we get to business end, and a lot of that planning has to be done now."
If travel will be the major off-court concern for Taurua, on court the big challenge to get her head around on-court is one of stylistic differences.
Since the arrival of star import Jhaniele Fowler-Reid in the deep South, the Steel have been criticised as a one-dimensional side. Their attacking approach of bombing the ball into the 1.98m shooter has been dismissed as boring, uncreative and lacking imagination.
These criticisms are more an indication of netball snobbery (who's to say there is a "right" way to play the game?) than any real indictment on the Steel style. But still, there are questions as to how Taurua's flamboyant approach will mesh with the safe and steady approach of the Steel attack. Taurua said while she would like to stamp her mark on the team and bring in a few more dimensions to the team's attack, it would be foolish to ignore the obvious strengths of the team.
"Each team has a certain brand of netball and you have to respect the way that everyone plays the game. You have to draw on the strengths on the individuals in the team," said Taurua.
"Their centre pass to score ratio is one of the best in the competition, which is huge. Where we probably lack at the moment is our gains and scoring off those turnovers.
So we need to get more ball in hand. - ah look at that I'm already saying 'we'."
