New Zealander · Papakura, New Zealand · Born 26 March 1968New Zealand goal attack/wing attack who played 34 Tests for the Silver Ferns before becoming one of netball's most decorated coaches.
Noeline Taurua represented the Silver Ferns 34 times between 1994 and 1999 as a wing attack and goal attack, winning a bronze medal at the 1995 World Championship and a silver at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur before a knee injury ended her playing career. She moved into coaching soon after, working her way up through New Zealand's domestic system and completing a Masters of Science in performance coaching along the way. Taurua built her coaching reputation with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, whom she led to the 2012 ANZ Championship title — still the only time a New Zealand side has won that trans-Tasman competition. She took charge of the Southern Steel from 2015, winning the league's Minor Premiership unbeaten in her first season, before moving to Australia's Sunshine Coast Lightning in 2017 and steering the new franchise to back-to-back Super Netball premierships in 2017 and 2018. Appointed the Silver Ferns' 11th head coach in 2018, she transformed the team within 11 months — from finishing outside the medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games to winning the 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool, New Zealand's first world title in 16 years. In the 2020 New Year Honours she became only the third netballer ever appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and in 2021 she guided the Silver Ferns to their first Constellation Cup series win over Australia in nine years.
Former Silver Fern and World Cup-winning New Zealand head coach
Career Honours
- 1995 Netball World Cup bronze
- 1998 Commonwealth Games silver
- Silver Ferns head coach for 2019 Netball World Cup title
- Sunshine Coast Lightning premierships 2017, 2018
- DNZM 2020
New Zealander Athletes