A seven-week coaching saga has officially come to an end for the Silver Ferns, but a dark cloud still lingers over both the team and Dame Noeline Taurua's reputation.
Taurua and her coaching staff were stood down by Netball NZ after players raised concerns about the safety of the team environment during a training camp in Australia.
Yvette McCausland-Durie was named as the interim in Taurua's absence and confirmed to remain in that role for the Constellation Cup and the Northern Tour.
READ MORE: NRL's hottest property to be 'flooded' as free agent frenzy begins
READ MORE: Bobsled Bree tipped to 'do a Bradbury' and make Olympic history
READ MORE: Yeo's replacement named as Origin winner receives captaincy
That announcement about McCausland-Durie's role in the Northern Tour raised several questions on social media, although Netball NZ insists it was to "minimise disruption" to the team that are currently on international duty.
While the governing body acknowledged that the "suspension of Dame Noeline was a difficult decision", they have "full confidence" in her leadership as she returns.
No evidence was found during investigations into the complaints lodged by two players, who reportedly wrote on behalf of five other teammates, that called Taurua's integrity into question.
Taurua's first event back with the team is currently set to be the Commonwealth Games.
But the saga does not seem to be over in the eyes of several greats of the game.
"This to me doesn't sound like it's over," Australian great Cath Cox said on Fox Netball.
"Dame Noeline Taurua's reputation has been hit and hit hard.
"Surely somebody's got to answer some questions."
Former Silver Fern Cat Tuivaiti added: "The more I read [of the statement], the more confused I got.
"It reads to me a little like, 'whoopsie' instead of, 'we may have messed up here'.
"They are trying to come to an agreement and it looks like they haven't got there.
"The damage has been done. She was let go very quickly, very swiftly and we were told we needed to move on … but she's not really going to get her seat back yet."
Netball NZ chief executive apologised for the hurt felt across the sport amid the coaching saga, telling New Zealand's 1News Breakfast that the organisation "is very regretful for the impact it's had on everyone."
She then clarified that her apology was for the impact of the saga on the community and not for the decision to stand Taurua down.
Players were informed ahead of the announcement that Taurua would return, but Ferns captain Karin Burger insists that it is not a focus point in the current group discussions.
"Players will deal with it in their own way … it's not a conversation in the group at the moment," Burger said.
"When it's the right time, we'll talk about it in the group."
It still remains unclear which players were caught up in the saga.
However, former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering believes those names will never come to light, nor does she believe Taurua knows the full story behind those complaints.
"I question whether Dame Noeline Taurua even knows what was going down," Willering told Auckland radio station NewstalkZB on Tuesday.
"I don't think it's finished. It was a situation that you look at and [wonder] why it was made when it was made.
"I think [Taurua's reinstatement] was certainly [due to] public pressure. We all knew that the Ferns weren't doing well and so even further pressure was added.
"Both parties probably had enough of all the negotiations, but having said that, they are still ongoing because there are lots of things still to sort out.
"But between all those people and the players [on that the Australian tour], how come that couldn't of been overcome in that time?"
Willering went on to note that it was never going to be easy for Taurua to step back into the role, but she warned the beloved coach can not change her processes now.
"It is going to be very interesting to see how they are going to address these issues to give confidence to the players … that it is now a safe environment," she said.
"She has to remain true to herself and keep the same philosophies. But she also doesn't want to go into this questioning what she is doing.
"She wouldn't of carried on coming through all this time and fighting the battles [for nothing]; it would not have been easy for her.
"The hardest thing for her would be that she has been silenced. I do hope that at some stage she gets to have a stage, rather than all of us on the outside.
"We have to learn from what has happened before we can actually move forward," Willering continued.
"The result of the Silver Ferns [in the Constellation Cup games in Australia] are not going to make us move forward.
"Damage has been done. The moment that this became public knowledge and it wasn't resolved, it damaged the sport.
"We are all very proud of our sport and we want to see it do well."
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.