Dame Noeline Taurua reappointed as Silver Ferns coach through to 2027 World Cup

Dame Noeline Taurua has been reappointed as Silver Ferns head coach through to the 2027 Netball World Cup, a year after her relationship with Netball New Zealand broke down in a bitter dispute over the team's high-performance environment.The move comes after Taurua led the Silver Ferns to Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow last month, ending a 16-year wait for the title.In a statement, Netball NZ said the decision reflects the organisation's confidence in Taurua's "leadership, coaching ability, integrity and vision" as well as a shared ambition to re-establish the Silver Ferns as the world's number one-ranked team.The reappointment represents a remarkable turnaround in the relationship between Taurua and the national body, which has undergone a significant leadership change this year.This time last year the veteran coach was stood down as Silver Ferns coach after a what began as a discreet cultural review of the team environment erupted into a fraught employment dispute.A 51-day standoff followed, with Taurua and her coaching team challenging the process used to examine the concerns, while Netball NZ maintained that changes were needed to improve the environment and strengthen player voice.Taurua was eventually reinstated in October, with both sides agreeing to changes designed to support player wellbeing and performance.However, the 2019 World Cup winning coach remained sidelined for the Constellation Cup against Australia and the Ferns' end of year tour to the UK, meaning the Commonwealth Games was Taurua's first campaign back at the helm following her reinstatement.Netball NZ chief executive Jennah Wootten, who is just a month into her role with the national body, said she was delighted to retain Taurua."The Silver Ferns programme is a world-class high-performance environment and we are thrilled to have retained the services of Dame Noeline. She is one of the greatest coaches in world netball," said Wootten."Netball New Zealand is proud of the Silver Ferns programme and is confident in its people, systems and high-performance environment. We look forward to further success with a huge 12 months ahead."Dame Noeline Taurua led the Silver Ferns to Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, ending a 16-year drought.www.photosport.nzTaurua said it is an "honour and a privilege" to lead the Ferns."This team has a proud history and a legacy that has been built over generations by the coaches, players and people who have gone before us," she said."I'm also incredibly proud of what this team achieved at the Commonwealth Games. The opportunity now is to build on that success, continue to grow our game and our people, and keep adding to the legacy of the Silver Ferns."Taurua's reappointment will extend a remarkable career with the Silver Ferns that has spanned almost a decade, and survived one of the most serious ruptures between a New Zealand coach and their national body.The veteran coach took the helm in 2018, replacing Janine Southby in the aftermath of an independent review in to the Silver Ferns' Gold Coast Commonwealth Games campaign, in which the team failed to win a medal for the first time.What followed was one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Silver Ferns history. Taurua took a team that had finished in fourth place at the Commonwealth Games and transformed it into world champions within a year.But the years that followed have produced more mixed results at pinnacle events.New Zealand took bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, before suffering their worst ever finish at a Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, when they ended the tournament in fourth place.Taurua was retained following a recruitment process in 2024, signing a contract that ran through the 2026 Commonwealth Games.Following their victory in Glasgow last month, the Silver Ferns will now turn their attention to next month's Constellation Cup against the Australia Diamonds. The series has taken on an even greater edge after the Diamonds took home bronze at the Commonwealth Games after failing to make the final for the first time, which meant New Zealand did not face their trans-Tasman rivals at the tournament.Netball NZ also announced on Thursday the Silver Ferns will take on the New Zealand men's team across three matches in Hamilton in November.