Laura Robyn Langman (born 16 April 1986) is a retired New Zealand international

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player, who last played domestic netball for the

Sunshine Coast Lightning Sunshine Coast Lightning are an netball in Australia, Australian netball team based at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The team was formed in 2016 in Australia, 2016 as a joint venture between the university and Melbourne Storm. Since 201 ...

in the Australian Super Netball league. Primarily a midcourt player, Langman is a former captain and vice-captain of the

New Zealand national netball team The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand s ...

(nicknamed the Silver Ferns). She is the most capped player in the history of the Silver Ferns, having overtaken

Irene van Dyk Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a South African-born New Zealand netball player. A goal-shooter, van Dyk is one of the world's best-known netballers and is the most capped international player of all time: in every game she ...

's record of 145 test matches in October 2018.

Early career

While still a student at Hillcrest High School in Hamilton, Langman was selected for the New Zealand U21 team. In 2003, she made her elite netball debut with the

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

in the

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship. Format In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...

, and later that year was selected for the Silver Ferns.

Silver Ferns

Langman made her international test debut in 2005 against England. That year she captained the New Zealand U21 side to win gold at the World Youth Netball Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the National Bank Cup, Langman won two premierships with the Magic in 2005 and 2006. She was also selected for the Silver Ferns team that won a gold medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

in Melbourne. The following year she made the Silver Ferns team to contest the 2007 Netball World Championships in Auckland, but almost had to withdraw with a foot injury. Langman recovered in time for the Championships, in which the Silver Ferns came in second behind Australia. She captained the Ferns several times in 2012, due to Casey Williams being injured, she also captained the 2012 New Zealand Fast5 team, where she led them to a gold medal against England. Langman's decision to play for the

in 2017 meant she was, amidst some controversy, not eligible to represent the national team. After much conjecture, Langman was granted an exemption by Netball New Zealand to play for the Silver Ferns in 2018/19. Ahead of the September 2018 Quad Series, Langman was elected by her fellow players and coaches as captain of the Silver Ferns. She captained the Ferns to the

2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matche ...

championship, in what would be one of her last matches in the black dress before retiring from netball the following year.

Domestic career

With the start of the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

, Langman remained with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, who finished runners-up in 2008. She was named vice-captain of the Silver Ferns that year, and was elevated to acting co-captain following an injury to

Julie Seymour Julie Seymour (née Dawson; born 29 March 1971) is a New Zealand netball coach, former international netball player and former representative middle distance runner. Seymour played for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, in ...

. Although normally a wing defender, Langman became increasingly shifted into different areas of the midcourt to cover gaps left by injured players or personnel changes. In 2009, she earned her 50th test cap against England at the age of 23, and won a gold medal with the Silver Ferns at the

2009 World Netball Series The 2009 World Netball Series was the inaugural tournament of the World Netball Series. The 2009 Series was held at MEN Arena in Manchester, England from 9–11 October, and was the first major trial of the new FastNet rules that were announced by ...

in Manchester. The following year she won another gold medal with the Silver Ferns at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

in Delhi. She was also named captain of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic for the 2010 ANZ Championship season, and continued in the role in 2011.The Magic took out the ANZ championship in 2012 beating the Melbourne Vixens. Laura played a very important part in the Magic as captain and playing the centre position with flair. On 19 August 2015, the

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team wa ...

announced their acquisition of Langman for the 2016 ANZ Championship season. In 2017, Langman moved to the

, a newly created team in the Australian Super Netball league, where she was instrumental in winning the club's first premiership. Langman left the club at the end of the year and announced a break from the sport the following year. She returned to the Lightning for the 2019 season after being granted an exemption by Netball New Zealand to play in a foreign league and represent her country. She was named captain of the team. Langman retired from all levels of netball after the Lightning's loss in the 2020 preliminary final loss to the

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, th ...

. In total Langman played more than 225 national league games across four clubs, the

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body tha ...

and

. The latter club's head coach, Kylee Byrne, stated "the legacy that angmanwill leave at our club and the sport in general is monumental, one of netball’s greats has retired".

Personal honours

In the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, Langman was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to netball.

Personal life

Langman is a trained Accountant by profession. She meet husband Adrian Pooley at

Wintec Wintec Saddles was launched in 1986 and is a saddle brand known for the first synthetic saddles. History The company is a subsidiary of Saddlery Brands International. (formerly Bates Australia), originally established in 1934, Saddles The Easy ...

in 2009 when he took Langman for a fitness test.

References

External links

2011 ANZ Championship profile: Laura Langman
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langman, Laura 1986 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Netball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in netball 2007 World Netball Championships players 2011 World Netball Championships players 2015 Netball World Cup players 2019 Netball World Cup players ANZ Championship players Suncorp Super Netball players New South Wales state netball league players Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players Northern Mystics players New South Wales Swifts players Sunshine Coast Lightning players New Zealand expatriate netball people in Australia Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand international Fast5 players National Bank Cup players