Former Silver Ferns captain Ana Noovao has died aged 58.
Netball New Zealand said she died peacefully on Sunday in Rockhampton, Queensland following a long illness.
Noovao rose through the youth ranks of New Zealand netball in the 1980s before making the Silver Ferns in 1989 aged 21.
She was made vice-captain for the 1990 Commonwealth Games and at the 1991 World Cup, and was elevated to captain a year later.
She played 23 Tests in black across four seasons at centre, wing attack and wing defence, and was known throughout for her “calm temperament that steadied those around her”.
Netball New Zealand president Tina Karaitiana described her as “a gifted attacker with natural creativity and a beautiful feed”, saying she was “marked for the black dress early”.
It said she toured Canada with the New Zealand Young Internationals in 1986 and captained the New Zealand Under-21 side at the 1987 World Youth Championships before making her Silver Ferns debut against Australia in April 1989.
“Ana carried the captaincy of the Silver Ferns with real grace, and she gave the game back far more than it ever asked of her, as a player, as a coach, and as a leader for Cook Islands netball,” said Karaitiana.
“Our thoughts are with her family, her teammates and everyone she taught along the way.”
Across her career, Noovao would not play on Sundays for religious reasons.
After her playing days finished, Noovao took up coaching – taking the Cook Islands to a seventh-place finish at the 2007 World Cup.
Posts from family and friends on social media paid tribute to Noovao.
She was described as a beloved mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, aunty, and friend.
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