Netball: Ferns connection among coaches

By DAVID LEGGAT at the Games

They sat there at opposite ends along the side of the court, four former New Zealand internationals, but now divided by half the globe.

For Silver Ferns coaches Ruth Aitken and Leigh Gibbs, it was plain sailing as New Zealand cruised to a 67-35 win over England in their penultimate match in pool A.

At the end of the first quarter - at which point New Zealand led 18-6 - there were smiles and the odd joke in the New Zealand camp.

Thirty metres away it was a different story. Wai Taumaunu jabbed her finger urgently at a defender, wagged it at another player. The message was being got across in easy-to-follow language.

Alongside her, Lyn Gunson was making her point in slightly less demonstrative but no less emphatic fashion. There are several lines which link these women.

All four have played for the Silver Ferns. Gunson, Gibbs and Taumaunu were team-mates in the late 1970s and early 1980s; Gunson, Gibbs and Aitken were in the world title-winning team of 1979.

Gunson and Gibbs are former Silver Ferns coaches and captains, Taumaunu is a former captain.

Now Gunson is head coach of England and Taumaunu is England's performance director and, for the duration of the Games, Gunson's assistant.

Gibbs is No 2 to Aitken, and having four former Silver Ferns sharing the jobs courtside at an international is sure to be a trainspotter's delight.

"There are a few of us around," Taumaunu said of the New Zealand coaching production line.

"Raewyn Henry is coaching Wales, Rita Fatialofa is the Western Samoan coach and is here observing and, of course, Yvonne [Willering] is here with Fiji."

Taumaunu, who has one year left on her five-year contract with English netball, stepped up to help Gunson out a few weeks ago when England coach Julie Hornweg resigned.

Gunson had been Hornweg's assistant and "came on board to help."

"I asked Lyn what support she would like and how she'd like to work it. She knows me well and seemed an easy and logical solution."

Any assessment of yesterday's game has to take into account the opening minutes.

England's shooters, Alex Astle and Abby Teare, could not have hit the side of a bus.

Their first six shots bounced out and when the first one did go in after 7 1/2 minutes, New Zealand already had 10 on the board.

From there, New Zealand were very good in patches, reasonable at other times, with the odd sloppy pass letting them down.

England had their moments, but far too few to trouble New Zealand.

In wing-attack and captain Olivia Murphy, they had one of the slickest movers on the court and an athlete who would not be out of place in a far better team than this.

After New Zealand walloped Canada 101-17 and Sri Lanka 116-26, England must have seemed, well, almost Australian by comparison.

"I felt this was our one chance of some pressure netball before we reached the [business] end," Aitken said.

Pressure netball? A 32-goal winning margin?

"I felt there was pressure in what was happening out there. Certainly our scoring rate was very pleasing.

"It was a good step up. Everyone's now had a taste of it."

New Zealand finish their pool programme against Wales today before squaring off, almost certainly against Jamaica, in the semifinals.

Taumaunu, while unhappy at England's effort, liked what she saw from her old team.

"In terms of the amount of ball they're taking accurately to the circle, that's been impressive. No other team in the competition is doing that.

"You might argue that pool A is easier than pool B [which contains the other two of netball's big three, Australia and Jamaica] but you cannot take away the amount of goals they're scoring consistently."

And what of the coaches at the end? Big smiles and hugs all round? A playful punch on the arm between old buddies perhaps?

Wrong. Perfunctory handshakes. Serious stuff this netball.

Full coverage:
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