Silver Ferns’ woes intensify as Dame Noeline Taurua stood down, Laura Langman leaps to defence

Thursday, 11 September 2025

Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua, pictured at a training session last year, has been stood down for the South African series.

Silver Ferns great Laura Langman has leapt to the defence of underfire coach Dame Noeline Taurua with an emotional social media post.

The Silver Ferns’ chaotic build-up to next week’s series against South Africa has deepened further, with head of high performance Stephen Hotter also placed on leave.

Head coach Taurua and assistants Debbie Fuller and Briony Akle have all been stood down for the three-match Taini Jamison Trophy series, starting next Sunday at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium.

It led to netball legend Langman, the most capped player in Silver Ferns history with 165 tests, labelling it “the saddest decision in New Zealand’s proud netball history”.

Taurua was influential in guiding New Zealand to a barely believable 2019 Netball World Cup title win, 11 months after replacing Janine Southby as head coach in August 2018.

Silver Ferns great Laura Langman staunchly defended underfire head coach Dame Noeline Taurua in a social media post.

Langman, who captained the Ferns to the 2019 title win, described Taurua as the most innovative coach she had played under and said her notorious high standards were for the betterment of the players and group.

“If players are unhappy with the direction the coach is taking, it’s gutless and selfish not to come forward and state what the issues are. That doesn’t reflect leadership at all,” Langman wrote in a post on Facebook.

She finished by saying: “I’m always proud to call myself a New Zealander, but this casts a dark shadow over the mana of our great game.”

Netball New Zealand (NNZ) issued a bombshell announcement on Wednesday, saying Taurua would not be involved in the series with issues around the high performance environment not resolved yet. Her future with the Silver Ferns is in serious doubt and she may have coached the side for the last time.

Taurua was unavailable for comment when contacted on Thursday.

Dame Noeline Taurua’s future as Silver Ferns head coach looks murky after being stood down for the looming South African series.

The Post understands Hotter, who has been at NNZ since 2012, and head of high performance since 2023, has also been placed on leave.

NNZ declined to speak around Hotter’s situation, citing privacy reasons.

In Hotter’s absence, New Zealand netball legends Wai Taumaunu and Tracey Fear have been brought in to assist the Ferns’ high performance programme. Long-serving former All Blacks manager Darren Shand has also been enlisted to help the players in the South African series.

Former Silver Ferns assistant and title-winning Central Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie will be interim head coach against South Africa with Liana Leota serving as assistant.

The Silver Ferns celebrate a Constellation Cup victory over Australia in Invercargill in 2023.

The Post understands issues between some Silver Ferns players and management first surfaced at January’s training camp in Sydney. There were concerns with Taurua’s tough coaching approach and communication style with several players complaining to the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association.

An independent review was later conducted with Taurua believed to have been unhappy with the findings.

When differences could not be met between management and some of the playing group, and time ticking ahead of the South African series, NNZ were forced to sensationally stand down the coaches.

The Post understands there has been growing frustration between Silver Ferns management and the players’ association, acting on behalf of the players. So much so, Taurua and the coaches have felt undermined in their position and held back from running their high performance programme effectively.

Dame Noeline Taurua’s future as Silver Ferns head coach could be over after being stood down for the South African series.

There was also angst with NNZ’s governance of the sport and making decisions that were not transparent and good for the game, one well-placed source said.

Two days of last week’s scheduled Silver Ferns’ training camp in Auckland were cancelled, so the players and players’ association could meet. The camp, which was supposed to be four days, was reduced to two days, eventually getting underway last Saturday.

NNZ were set to announce their 12-player Silver Fern squads for the Taini Jamison Trophy and October’s Constellation Cup against Australia on Monday. That has been pushed back to next Monday, just seven days before the first South African test.

The Silver Ferns have yet to announce their new captain with former skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio unavailable for the national side for the rest of 2025.

The Silver Ferns’ 2025-26 national squad, minus shooter Amelia Walmsley who is preparing for the New Zealand under-21 side’s Netball World Youth Cup, gathered in Auckland for the start of a four-day camp on Thursday, amid the chaos playing out.

Former Silver Fern and top-level coach Marg Foster also slammed the treatment of Taurua.

“Dame Noeline Taurua is one of the greatest coaches we’ve ever had. To say she’s too old-school or too hard is nonsense. Elite sport is meant to be tough…

“If training feels too hard maybe that environment isn’t for you and that’s okay, but let’s be clear athletes play, coaches coach. Right now it feels like the players’ association is running the show.”

With the Constellation Cup looming in October, which the Ferns are reigning holders of, time is of the essence for any potential resolution.

It is understood Taurua, Fuller, and Akle could possibly return to coach the side in that series, but they would need backing from the players and NNZ, and assurance to be able to carry out their roles properly without outside influences.