Last Friday the Silver Ferns squad were due to assemble in Auckland for a four-day training camp, after which the team for the upcoming test series against South Africa was to be named.
The camp would not only provide the selectors with the information needed to name their 12-strong team, but vital preparation for the home series against the Proteas and next month’s Constellation Cup matches against Australia.
The camp never went ahead.
Instead, behind closed doors Netball NZ officials were scrambling to find a new coaching group to lead the team following the stunning removal of Dame Noeline Taurua and her management staff from the Taini Jamison series.
RNZ has learned that the move to stand down Taurua came after a crisis meeting on the eve of the camp in a final attempt to resolve issues between the playing group and Silver Ferns management that have been festering away for much of the year.
Around the table were senior Netball NZ officials, including board chair Matt Whineray, Taurua and her management team, representatives from High Performance Sport NZ, and members of the New Zealand Netball Players Association (NZNPA).
According to one source, the talks lasted nearly a full day with several solutions put forward, including the option of bringing in Silver Ferns defensive great Tracey Fear and former All Blacks team manager Darren Shand to “support the players”.
The source, who declined to speak on the record while the situation remained “delicate”, said the offer was rejected by Silver Ferns management.
With talks at an impasse, Netball NZ had little option to bring in a new coaching team if it were to salvage the series.
The confirmation came late Wednesday afternoon in the form of a brief statement that raised more questions than answers.
The national body said it had been engaged in discussions with Taurua and the Silver Ferns team “concerning proposed changes” to the Silver Ferns programme, but it has been unable to resolve the issues in time for the Taini Jamison series.
“We have a long relationship with Dame Noeline and her record with successive Silver Ferns teams speaks for itself. At this time, however, we need to focus on supporting players on the immediate challenge of playing South Africa.”
The decision marked a dramatic turning point in a months-long standoff between the playing group and team management – a rift insiders describe as “incredibly sad” and, increasingly, irreconcilable.
Summer of discontent
RNZ understands the tensions date back to a nine-day training camp held in Sydney in late January. During that tour, the Silver Ferns played a series of training games against Super Netball club the NSW Swifts.
The Swifts are coached by Briony Akle, who has served as a specialist coach in the Silver Ferns environment for the past couple of seasons.
It was not a happy tour. While only one of the games was open to the public – the Ferns’ 74-52 defeat in the final game – it is understood the New Zealand side lost all four matches.
Following the camp, two players approached the NZNPA on behalf of a larger group of up to seven players to raise serious concerns about Taurua’s leadership and communication style.
Players alleged the environment had become “psychologically unsafe”, describing a culture in which some felt fearful of raising issues directly with the head coach.
Those concerns were formally escalated to Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie and the board.
Netball NZ’s high performance director Stephen Hotter was tasked with working alongside Wyllie to manage a resolution.
But as the months ticked by without any decisive action, the players association pushed for an independent review into the team environment.
RNZ understands the national body engaged former NZ Cricket high performance boss Bryan Stronach to lead a review.
According to a source familiar with the process, the review, which got underway in July – nearly six months after the issues were first raised – highlighted “significant issues” within the Silver Ferns environment.
Taurua and her assistants Deb Fuller and Akle were said to have been “furious” with the findings, and have engaged lawyers to contest the review and the process.
“From there, it’s just kind of gone into a death spiral,” the source said. “There’s been multiple attempts at mediation to try and resolve this, but they just seem to go nowhere. The trust between the coaches and Netball NZ management is gone at this point.”
It was during this time that several players, including captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio, elected to make themselves unavailable for Silver Ferns selection this season.
RNZ has approached Taurua and Fuller for an interview, both declined to comment.
Asked if she had any response to the allegations raised by the players, Taurua responded: “I’m sorry, I can’t talk. I will be happy to talk to you when I can.”
However, one source close to the coaching group says Taurua is unhappy with Netball NZ’s handling of the dispute, claiming the national body is allowing the players association to “run the programme”.
There is also a sense of disbelief among Taurua’s supporters that the World Cup winning coach, known for her intuitive style and ability to instill belief in her team, has lost the support of the players.
In a lengthy post on Facebook, former Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman said she was “devastated and bewildered” by Netball NZ’s actions, describing Taurua’s removal as “one of the saddest decisions in New Zealand netball history”.
“We know Noels throws curveballs in her coaching. There were plenty of times as players we’d ask: ‘What does she want from me?’ But her style is bold, exciting and innovative. She’s tough when she needs to be, but always compassionate and fair – open, inclusive and honest,” Langman wrote.
Former Silver Ferns Yvonne Willering and Margie Foster, who have each served as specialist coaches under Taurua, shared similar sentiments.
One insider says to be wary of the narrative that it is a small number of fringe athletes that are unhappy with Taurua’s approach.
“What is happening now, the backlash against the players, is exactly why players have been fearful of speaking out. I hope people remember there are some vulnerable athletes caught up in all of this,” the source said.
Steph Bond, who heads up the NZNPA, did not respond to interview requests.
Is there a way back from this?
Board chair Matt Whineray yesterday denied the relationship between Taurua and Netball NZ had completely broken down, stating conversations were “ongoing”.
“We’ve been having some discussions with Dame Noeline and the management team for a little while about the high performance programme, the environment, we’ve had some issues in there that we’ve been seeking to resolve,” Whineray said.
“We are hopeful that we can resolve it, we think that’s a definite outcome but we haven’t got there at the moment.”
Whineray declined to provide any details about the issues being worked through, but stressed there was not a culture of bullying in the environment.
HPSNZ has confirmed it has been involved in efforts to mediate the stand-off between the players and coaching staff – a situation made all the more complex as Taurua sits on the board of the government agency.
In a statement provided to RNZ, HPSNZ chairperson Raewyn Lovett said “the specific issues that Netball New Zealand is facing are between their organisation and Dame Noeline Taurua”.
Lovett added that Taurua “currently remains a member of the HPSNZ board”.
For now, the focus of both Netball NZ and HPSNZ is to get the players through the upcoming series, which gets under way in Auckland next Sunday.