Ferns' coach pragmatic to the very end

Photo / Mark Mitchell

Waimarama Taumaunu’s record with our top netball side was lean but she had limited talent to draw on.

The remarkable thing about Waimarama Taumaunu's departure from the Silver Ferns is how pragmatic she's been about the decision.

Most believed Taumaunu would stick around for another crack because, well, how grating it must be to walk away without a major title to your name. Who would choose to leave on those terms? If they had any say in the matter, that is.

Many coaches' egos demand that they leave a legacy from their time in charge. They're results-driven people and when their results don't stack up, they want another chance to get things right.

In announcing her decision this week, Taumaunu admitted stepping down on the back of a World Cup loss is much harder than it would have been following victory in Sydney, "but it's still not a good enough reason to not allow a fresh approach to come in".

She was realistic. After eight years in the Silver Ferns set-up - first as assistant to Ruth Aitken, before taking on the head coaching role at the end of 2011 - it was time for a fresh set of eyes, a new broom and all of that.

There are others who weren't so sure; Netball New Zealand chief executive Hilary Poole, for one. Poole admits she tried to convince Taumaunu to chase a second term as Silver Ferns coach.

She believed Taumaunu had not yet "maxed out" her potential, and the development the team has undergone over the past 10 months after a difficult period of adjustment to the post-Irene van Dyk era, proved that.

Surely, with the team now just beginning to thrive with their bold new attacking game plan, Taumaunu would be disappointed if a new coach came in and completely scrapped the work that had been done?

"No, I don't feel that ownership over things," she says.

When pressed, Taumaunu admits she hopes at the very least she has helped lay a solid platform for the next coach to build on.

"I really hope I have, because in terms of results you can't kind of look to the last four years and say it's been great," she says with a wry chuckle.

You could say the results have been fairly ordinary, in fact.

From September 2013 to August of this year the Ferns endured a record-equalling nine-game losing streak to Australia, many of those losses by hefty margins.

That disastrous run, which included an 18-goal loss to the Diamonds in last year's Commonwealth Games final, came to an end last month when the two sides met in pool play at the World Cup at Homebush. The New Zealand side could not repeat their efforts in the final, however, with the Diamonds powering to a third straight world title.

There's a feeling, however, that Taumaunu was dealt a rough hand during her time in charge and a lot of the Ferns' struggles was the manifestation of deeper problems in New Zealand netball.

It is now obvious to all in the sport that Netball NZ took their eye off the ball in terms of player development for a period, with the systems underneath the top level failing to keep pace with the leap to professionalism.

Now netball administrators are finally getting a handle on the depth of the problem and overhauling its structures accordingly, you could understand if Taumaunu felt timing and circumstances had conspired against her somewhat.

She doesn't quite see it that way.

Taumaunu has long recognised New Zealand's lack of depth relative to the Australians, having seen it first hand as a player, and then in her first stint as Silver Ferns assistant from 1997-1998.

I come from an era where we kind of get that our depth doesn't look like Australia's. Whilst for some people the lack of depth seemed insurmountable, I have been part of teams where we knew we didn't have the numbers, but we have had the enthusiasm and the desire and you just make the best use of what we've got.

Waimarama Taumaunu, Departing Silver Ferns coach

She says she knew when she took on the job that the shooting end in particular was going to cause some headaches.

But even knowing the extent of the player shortage in New Zealand, Taumaunu probably didn't foresee that she would be selecting players, and in some cases starting with them, that were not getting court time in the ANZ Championship.

"I did know that we'd relied on Irene [van Dyk]and Maria [Tutaia] for a very long time, so I was aware at some point that shooting circle was going to be really bereft of experience."

"Having said that, until it actually happens and you're watching it from the sideline, I don't think you really know how bad it might get."

There goes that wry chuckle again.

After a sharp drop-off in form, van Dyk called it quits just six weeks out from last year's Commonwealth Games.

Injury kept the player groomed as her replacement, Cathrine Latu, sidelined for the bulk of the Games - one of several injuries to hit the shooting end during the Glasgow tournament.

When Latu returned to the fold for the Constellation Cup, she struggled to cope with the smothering defence of Diamonds skipper Laura Geitz, and the Ferns' midcourt struggled to find her.

The Ferns needed a new approach, but with imports occupying the goal shoot position in three of the five Kiwi franchises, the only options available to the New Zealand selectors were bench players.

Bailey Mes, who had been introduced to the Ferns environment in 2012 before a serious knee injury the following year derailed her 2013 and 2014 season, appeared the best candidate. Knowing that "you can't replace international experience" and it would take time for Mes to find her feet at the top-level, Taumaunu bit the bullet and promoted the youngster to the starting line-up towards the end of the year - a move that was met with widespread criticism for both coach and player.

Redemption came in the form of some impressive performances from Mes during last month's World Cup, with the athletic shooter impressing with her footwork, speed, elevation and rebounding prowess.

The addition of the more mobile Mes at the back opened up the New Zealand attack, bringing some length back into their game.

With that, Taumaunu and assistant Vicki Wilson gave the side licence to play with freedom, challenging them to be fearless and let the ball go.

While from the outside it appeared the change in attacking strategy was foisted upon the team at the last minute thanks to a change in personnel, Taumaunu says it had been a style they had been trying to institute for quite some time.

"It wasn't spur of the moment this year, it had been in the pipeline and [Wilson] and I were pretty clear that was where we needed to go," she said.

"The intent was to be trying to play a similar game plan at the Commonwealth Games but it never happened, and there were a number of reasons for that around injuries, really."

For all the improvement the Ferns made, they still faltered when it counted, as the Diamonds stormed to a 58-55 win on the back of a rampant opening quarter.

And so, progress is all Taumaunu has left to hang her hat on as she finishes up her time with the Ferns.

She has one last assignment - next month's four-test Constellation Cup series against the Diamonds.

The 12 players from the World Cup have expressed a determination to take the court next month and finish off the a tough year on a high, Taumaunu is hopeful that is the case.

It's not about her, she says, but about the team getting some reward for the endeavour they've shown.

"I would be disappointed if we rolled over at the end of the year. The amount of work they have put in this year to change their game deserves to be finished with a bang rather than a whimper."