The Silver Ferns recently completed a clean sweep of their three test series against the South African Proteas, despite several weeks mired in controversy.
In a year that had already seen significant change for New Zealand netball, including a condensed ANZ Premiership, innovations including the two-point shot and increased eligibility for New Zealand players to play overseas,. Netball New Zealand had to deal with the biggest drama in its 100 year history.
With the issue dating back to January, when some players had alleged the Silver Ferns environment was “psychologically unsafe”, and no resolution in sight, head coach Dame Noeline Taurua and her high performance team were stood down by the Netball New Zealand board just 10 days before the Taini Jamison series.
With a packed international calendar and series against South Africa, Australia, England, and Scotland locked into the books, and facing intense media and public scrutiny, finding an option to stabilise the environment was crucial for the Silver Ferns.
Answering the S.O.S was former assistant coach of the Silver Ferns and two-time ANZ Premiership winner as head coach of the Central Pulse, Yvette McCausland-Durie.
Stepping back into coaching for the first time since the 2024 Fast 5 Netball series, McCausland-Durie said, “it’s a privilege” to return to the high-performance environment.
“It is always special to be a part of the Silver Ferns, the brand and this group of young women who are hugely professional and work incredibly hard to reflect all the great values and the mana it brings.”
McCausland-Durie sat down with Tobey Keddy to discuss leading the Silver Ferns for the first time in the three-test Taini Jamison series against South Africa, the impact of the media backlash on the Silver Ferns players and how they are looking to persevere in the Constellation Cup series against the Australian Diamonds.
Check out the Netball Scoop YouTube Channel or Spotify Channel to see the full interview.
Interim Silver Ferns coach Yvette McCausland-Durie, has a long history in high performance sport. Photo: Graeme Laughton-Mutu
Taini Jamison Review
Assisted by Liana Leota, McCausland-Durie’s first hit out as interim head coach of the Silver Ferns was against the South African Proteas. Despite sweeping the series with three wins, she acknowledged that work is needed when asked about the varied differentials between each game.
The Silver Ferns dominated Test One by 27 goals, winning 77-51. A 20-8 first quarter that began with the bookend connections of Grace Nweke and Elisapeta Toeava in attack, and Karin Burger and Kelly Jackson in defence, showed their world-class connection.
The differential dropped significantly in Test Two, as the Silver Ferns held off a strong South African first half to win, 70-58. Despite being challenged, Jackson’s 9 gains and the introduction of Martina Salmon into goal attack in the second quarter brought energy and a point of difference for what was a turnover-costly attacking end. A 20-13 second quarter was instrumental in giving the Silver Ferns confidence to take their game to the next level.
Trailing for most of the third test, the Silver Ferns then scraped a victory in the dying minutes, winning by one goal, 57-56. The defensive pressure of the Proteas was in full force as they hindered the Silver Ferns’ speed through the court. 6 gains in the final quarter by the Silver Ferns brought back a deficit that had seen New Zealand score their lowest first quarter since 2021.
Given their interrupted preparation, McCausland-Durie was proud of her charges.
“(…) As we transitioned through (the series), we saw the South Africa we expected to see earlier.”
“In my overall summary, (I’m) really proud that we got a three-nil series.”
Overall, McCausland-Durie highlighted that, given the turmoil, she was “super impressed” that the players stayed connected and “expressed their best potential” to ensure they represented the black dress with mana.
“We are realistic; there is some work to do for us going forward in terms of our game.”
McCausland-Durie said the challenge of improving ahead of the Constellation Cup will be a “wonderful” opportunity.
One of the stand-outs during the Taini Jamison series was debutant Martina Salmon. After starting on the bench in test one, Salmon’s unorthodox style in the goal attack position and her ability to feed the ball into Nweke saw her with increased court time in each test, resulting in a 60-minute performance in the last match.
She led the series with 47 goal assists, and consistently went to post, a point of contention in the goal attack position before the series without former Silver Fern captain, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, being in the fold.
To listen to the conversation about the Taini Jamison series, which included discussion around one of the standout debutants, Martina Salmon, check out the Sporting Scoop episode on YouTube and Spotify.
The 2024 Fast5 Netball World Series was Yvette McCausland-Durie’s most recent role at international level. Image: May Bailey | Clusterpix Photography
The impact of media scrutiny on players
The number of eyeballs on netball in New Zealand has skyrocketed over the last twelve months.
From winning the Constellation Cup in 2024, innovations in a condensed ANZ Premiership, and changes in players’ eligibility to ply their trade overseas, the media is closely following the movements of New Zealand netball. The ongoing saga around Dame Noeline Taurua’s standing down period has brought added scrutiny and public opinion around the sport in New Zealand.
With the saga primarily an employment matter, little information has been released to the public due to the legal processes involved. It’s resulted in intense speculation, negative social media comments and targeted accusations, particularly around which players might be involved.
When questioned about the impact on the playing group, McCausland-Durie discussed how her management team is supporting the players.
“It is a challenge for people to shut out noise. (…) It is also difficult if they do see it, to not take it personally.”
McCausland-Durie and her management team wanted to provide a space for each athlete to have everything needed for performance. As part of that players have been working with networks, including former players, sports psychologists and connecting with family to ensure they are present in the Silver Fern environment.
“(…) involves where’s our structural clarity, both on and off the court. How are we acting and behaving in ways that are uplifting and mana-enhancing? But that doesn’t mean we don’t have the conversations that we need to have.”
She reflects on how she feels the Silver Ferns will need to cope with this period by comparing themselves to workplaces worldwide.
”Workplaces are not always necessarily full of absolute synergy in terms of people. But they are good workplaces and places that are productive, have really good synergy about where they are going and what the vision is(…)”
McCausland-Durie’s vision is clear: she wants to win matches and put on performances that the Silver Ferns and the public will be proud of.
“People want us to win test series, we want to win it more than anybody. (…) That’s our job. We didn’t move from that, and I was really proud of how people could compartmentalise and go to work.”
It’s a vision that she will look to impose in her biggest test yet, the Constellation Cup against the Australian Diamonds.
To listen to McCausland-Durie’s analysis on the Constellation Cup series, beginning on the 17th of October at John Cain Arena in Melbourne, check out the full episode of the Sporting Scoop on the Netball Scoop YouTube Channel and Sporting Scoop Spotify Channel.
Yvette McCausland-Durie Photo: Adrian Watkins
