Dame Noeline Taurua will fight to return as Silver Ferns coach, but her future looks grim

Sunday, 5 October 2025

Silver Ferns head coach Noeline Taurua looks to have coached the side for the final time.

Dame Noeline Taurua’s lawyer says she will fight to return as Silver Ferns head coach, even if it appears publicly she has coached the side for the final time.

Taurua’s future in the role looks grim after Netball New Zealand (NNZ) announced on Saturday the decorated coach will remain sidelined for the rest of the year.

After sensationally being stood down for the Silver Ferns’ Taini Jamison Trophy series against South Africa, there had been hope Taurua could be reinstated.

With NNZ and Taurua unable to reach a resolution after lengthy meetings this past week, interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie will remain in charge for the four-match Constellation Cup series against Australia, starting on October 17 in Melbourne, and November’s Northern tour.

Lawyer Stacey Shortall, a partner at MinterEllisonRuddWatts, who is acting for Taurua, said her client had engaged openly and constructively with NNZ, seeking a fair pathway for her return.

The Silver Ferns must try and focus on the looming Constellation Cup, amid the Taurua coaching saga playing out.

“Dame Noeline has acted throughout with integrity and good faith – standing firmly in her mana and remaining true to her values, together with those of the Black Dress.

“Any lack of agreement has not been the result of unwillingness on her part to find solutions. Her strong and consistent desire has been, and still is, to resume her role as head coach in service of the Silver Ferns, the full team, and the wider whānau of netball.”

Taurua was stood down 11 days before the Taini Jamison Trophy series started, stemming back to a training camp in Sydney in January, where a group of players raised concerns about her leadership and communication style.

Two players acting on behalf of a larger group went to the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association (NZNPA) following the Sydney camp, voicing their displeasure. It sparked an independent report, which highlighted significant issues in the Ferns’ environment. Former New Zealand Cricket high performance boss Bryan Stronach was commissioned to investigate the players' concerns.

Yvette McCausland-Durie will serve as Silver Ferns interim head coach for the rest of the year with Noeline Taurua sidelined.

The situation became uglier and relations could not be mended before the South Africa series, leaving NNZ with the radical step of removing Taurua as coach.

Taurua, arguably the greatest coach in Silver Ferns history, is contracted until early next year. It seemed inevitable her eight-year tenure as head coach was over.

Ironically, her final act as game-day coach could be hoisting aloft the Constellation Cup at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena last October after leading the Silver Ferns to just their third trans-Tasman series triumph in history.

Taurua has enjoyable considerable success in the role, guiding the Ferns to the 2019 Netball World Cup title, just 11 months after replacing Janine Southby following a dismal showing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also steered the side to Constellation Cup glory in 2021, as well as last year’s success.

Taurua was awarded a damehood in the New Year’s Honours of 2020 after the Ferns’ barely believable 2019 World Cup win, their first since 2003.

It has not all been smooth sailing with the Ferns achieving their worst finish at a Netball World Cup at the 2023 edition in Cape Town, where they finished fourth under Taurua.

Dame Noeline Taurua won’t coach the Silver Ferns in their final two series of 2025 and has likely guided them for the final time.

The NZNPA, who have yet to speak publicly on the Taurua saga, issued a statement on Saturday night, via executive manager Steph Bond.

Out of respect for both parties in the process, the NZNPA would not be making any further comment on the current status, Bond said.

“This has been a challenging time for all players within the Silver Ferns environment. The process has had a very real impact on the team, and the public nature of the situation has added significantly to the pressure they are feeling,” Bond said.

“Like all professional sports teams, players have their own unique perspective on their experiences in the environment. With a coaching team confirmed for the Constellation Cup and Northern Tour, we hope the players are given space to focus on the team and the job ahead in the coming weeks.”

The NZNPA had provided well-being support for players and would continue to do so.

With the Taurua debacle hogging the headlines, the Silver Ferns players must try and think about netball again with the first Constellation Cup test in just 12 days’ time.

A 14-player Constellation Cup squad will be named on Monday with shooter Amelia Walmsley expected to be the lone addition. Walmsley missed the Taini Jamison Trophy due her commitments with the New Zealand under-21 side, who finished second at the Netball World Youth Cup. Walmsley will likely replace Filda Vui.

The Silver Ferns have a training camp, starting in Auckland on Tuesday. The players gather on Tuesday with management arriving on Monday.