Taurua’s future uncertain
Champion Ferns coach yet to make long-term decision
Netball supercoach Noeline Taurua is no certainty to continue with the Silver Ferns beyond January’s Northern Quad Series.
Taurua announced yesterday she will finish as head coach of the two-time defending champion Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia’s Super Netball after this season.
Netball New Zealand also confirmed that Taurua, who guided New Zealand to their first World Cup title in 16 years last month, will remain with the Ferns for at least their next two series. She will be in charge during October’s Constellation Cup series against Australia and January’s Quad Series in England.
Taurua will take time out following the Quad Series to assess her long-term coaching future with the Ferns then having a long break until they play again. Her plans beyond that are unclear, but could include stepping away from elite netball altogether.
Taurua and her family will return to their home in Pukehina, near Tauranga, in early December.
Family will be pivotal in any decision Taurua makes. Four of her five children are aged between 17 and 11. She also wants to support her Auckland-based mother Polly, whose husband Kingi died from cancer last May.
‘‘There is a possibility,’’ Taurua told Stuff when asked whether January’s Quad Series could be her Ferns farewell.
‘‘I’ve got to have that time to sit back and reflect where I am as a coach and do I want to keep coaching and the challenges that are ahead.
‘‘I’ve got to be able to do whatever I choose for the right reasons and I’ve got to be able to answer that myself.’’
Taurua has tasted success virtually everywhere she’s coached, becoming the only Kiwi coach to win the trans-tasman league, in 2012 with the Waikatobay of Plenty Magic.
Guiding the Lightning to backto-back titles upon Super Netball’s creation in 2017 is another huge achievement. Taurua completed the ultimate rebuild job last month, turning the Silver Ferns from chumps to champs within the space of 11
‘‘I’ve got to be able to do whatever I choose for the right reasons.’’ Noeline Taurua
months, steering them to the World Cup title.
After coaching the Ferns in October’s Constellation Cup, she’ll return to the Sunshine Coast to pack up her house, which will give her time to reflect. ‘‘I’ve been involved in netball for so long and absolutely loved the opportunities that have been presented.
‘‘I’m at the stage in my life where ‘is there anything in my life I can do and be challenged in different ways’?
‘‘I’m looking for that ability to be balanced with my family, but also to be challenged and explore different things.’’
Taurua could consider a raft of different options.
Her late father, Kingi, was involved in politics, being a Nga¯ puhi tribal leader and Ma¯ ori adviser to prime ministers.
‘‘I’m not closed on anything and I don’t want to be. Whether that’s coming back with the Silver Ferns or doing other things I’ve got to sit back.
‘‘There’ll be a time where I’ll be able to sit back and I’ll know where I need to go moving forward.’’