Dame Noeline Taurua (born 26 March 1968) is a 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 ...

coach and former representative player. She is currently head coach 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 ...

, the Silver Ferns.

Early life

Taurua was born in

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

to Kingi and Polly Taurua, her fathers tribe was

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

and

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te ...

on her mothers side. Taurua is the youngest of five children. Taurua expressed an interest in

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

in her schooling years.

Playing career

Taurua was a member of the Silver Ferns from 1993–99. During that time she won a silver medal at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and a bronze medal at the 1995 Netball World Championships in Birmingham. A knee injury in 1999 ended her playing career, having played in 34 test matches for the Silver Ferns.

Coaching career

In 2011, Taurua acted as unofficial assistant coach to the Silver Ferns alongside

Ruth Aitken Dame Ruth Ellina Aitken ( née Fathers; born 31 July 1956) is a New Zealand former international-level netball player and former head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Aitken was born in 1956 in Paeroa. Her pare ...

The follow year she accepted an official position as Silver Ferns assistant coach after being offered the role several times. In domestic netball, Taurua coached 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 ...

from 2002–13, leading them to two National Bank Cup titles (2005, 2006) and one

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 ...

title (

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

). In 2013, Taurua decided to finish her coaching duties for the Silver Ferns after performing in the role for 1.5 seasons for family reasons She also stepped down as head coach of the Magic after spending 11 years at the franchise. Her replacement at the Magic was former

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 was ...

coach

Julie Fitzgerald Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between ...

. Taurua later accepted a role as head coach for

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that re ...

in their final 2016 ANZ Championship season. After the dissolution of the ANZ Championship in 2016, 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 ...

announced the signing of Taurua heading into the 2017 season of the

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

league in Australia. Taurua coached the Lightning to back-to-back premierships in the new competition, before being selected as the head coach of the New Zealand national netball team in August 2018. During her time as Silver Ferns head coach, New Zealand won the 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series and

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 ...

. As well as being the national team coach, Taurua continued to coach the Lightning in Australia. On 20 August 2019, Taurua announced her departure from the Lightning after her third year coaching the team. She departed the Lightning having coached them to two consecutive premierships (2017, 2018) and one minor premiership (2019). Taurua was not shortlisted for the role of headcoach in 2015 however after the resignation of

Janine Southby Janine Southby Brown is a retired New Zealand netball player who then coached the national Silver Ferns netball team. She was also the coach of the Southern Steel in the ANZ Championship. Southby played for the Western Flyers in the National B ...

from a failed

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

campaign accepted the job as the

Silver Ferns 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 ...

11th coach In 2019 Taurua coached the

to a 52-51 win over the

Australian Diamonds The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the INF Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Se ...

in the Netball World Cup in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

a competition the team hadn't won since 2003. Successful again in her career Taurua coached the team to win the 2021 Constellation Cup ending a nine year drought.

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

were delighted once again when Taurua confirmed she would be coaching the

until 2023. Taurua coached the

to win a Bronze medal at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. Taurua is known for her strict fitness criteria for any

Silver Fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

trialists and players.

Awards and Honors

* 2018:

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Sport Coach of the Year * 2018: Tai Tokerau Māori Sports Awards – Coach of the Year * 2019: Matariki Awards – Te Waitā Award for Sport *2020: Halberg Award Coach of the year In the 2020 New Year Honours, Taurua was appointed a

Dame Companion 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. Taurua was appointed to the

High Performance Sport New Zealand Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The org ...

board in September 2022, this was to work alongside athletic gold medalist

Valerie Adams Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams (formerly Vili; born 6 October 1984) is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time IAAF World Championships in Athletics, World champion, four-time IAAF World Indoor Championships, World Indoor champion, ...

, Black Sox coach Don Tricker and

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

swimmer

Duane Kale Duane Paul Kale (born 1 September 1967) is a New Zealand Paralympic swimmer who won four gold medals, along with a silver and a bronze, at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. He was also the Chef de Mission for the New Zealand Paralympic Team at the ...

Personal Life

Taurua is a mother of five children and married to Edward Goldsmith.

References

External links

Silver Ferns profile: Noeline Taurua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taurua, Noeline 1968 births Living people New Zealand Māori netball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand netball coaches Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand national netball team coaches Capital Shakers players Suncorp Super Netball coaches ANZ Championship coaches Sporting dames Southern Steel coaches Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coaches Netball players from Auckland 1995 World Netball Championships players National Bank Cup coaches