Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Dame Noeline Taurua says she'll walk from her job as Silver Ferns coach if she doesn't feel she has the support of players and management when she returns to the role.
Taurua earlier broke her two-month silence, describing on Morning Report the "horrific" legal process she had been through since Netball New Zealand stood her down because of what is understood to be player concerns about the environment within the squad.
The 57-year-old was reinstated by Netball New Zealand on 25 October after weeks of tense negotiations and will return at the end of this year.
However she told Nine to Noon she wouldn't stay for long if she found players or officials at Netball NZ didn't support her.
"What matters to me is the legacy of the Silver Ferns and the legacy of our game and the people that I work with," Taurua told the programme.
"If I feel that I don't have the support of the people that I work with - and I can't tell you when that will be - I'm happy to walk.
Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua. Photo: Photosport
"But I'm not in that position yet. Because it's just new that I've come back into the mix."
Taurua's contract is unchanged and takes her through to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the middle of next year.
She has a one-year right of renewal which would see her remain in charge until the following year's World Cup in Sydney.
Taurua says it this stage she wants to carry on to the 2027 global event but restated her need to have full support.
'Its been horrific'
Taurua earlier told Morning Report she still hadn't spoken to any of her players since being reinstated as Silver Ferns head coach and still doesn't know the details of why she was stood down.
She was keen to finally speak out publicly to defend her reputation but conceded there were elements of the negotiations between Netball NZ and her lawyers that she was constrained to talk about.
Asked why she was stood down, Taurua said she simply didn't know.
"If I knew specifics, then I'd be able to easily tell you what it is and I'd be able to be more clear about solutions," she said.
"I have no specifics around what I actually need to do. However, I will listen to the players as to what I need to do.
"What I can say is it's not an environmental issue and I'll stand by that. If I need to meet with individuals, I'm happy to do that. I'm happy to meet with the mums and the dads and the aunties and the nannies and have a clear process of what we need to do moving forward."
Silver Ferns Photo: Jeremy Ward/ Photosport
Taurua said she was still to meet with any of the Silver Ferns players, who depart this week for a tour to the UK for tests against Scotland and England, again under the eye of interim head coach Yvette McCausland-Durie.
Staying at home
While she wanted to be on that tour, Taurua had come to terms that she wouldn't be and that she would have to be a distant observer as she begins her own preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the middle of next year.
"I haven't had any front-facing with the players at all. Once I was stood down, that was part of the agreement," she said.
"I'm respectful of what they need to do moving forward. I'd love to be on the tour but I accept that I'm not and I get my headspace into what I need to do for Commonwealth Games.
"There's things that I can't say but there's also a balancing act for me specifically about what is my truth. Because there are things that are put out there that actually aren't true."
The prolonged standoff has exposed strains, not only in the sport's leadership, but also within the Ferns squad, where players have had to shoulder the uncertainty of a shifting high-performance environment.
Netball NZ boss Jennie Wyllie defended the organisation's handling of the situation, saying time was needed to work through complex issues.
NNZ Chief Executive Jennie Wyllie (left) with Noeline Taurua (right) the new head coach of the Silver Ferns. 30 August 2018. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Wyllie admitted there is still work to do to rebuild trust and reshape the team environment.
RNZ understands Taurua agreed to make changes to the high-performance environment, including some personnel changes.
Unwanted legal option
Taurua told Morning Report she was reluctant to pursue legal action against Netball NZ because of the potential cost to the sport at a time when its finances aren't flush.
"There were various options that I could take but my number one was to be reinstated," she said.
"To be honest, I didn't want to go legal, mainly because it's taxpayers' money and I know it's money that goes to the netball community.
"I just wanted to get my job back and work with the team."
Silver Ferns head coach Noelene Taurua. Photo: Photosport
Taurua said learning of her reinstatement left her feeling energised, "like it's the beginning of game day".
"It's been horrific if I'm going to be honest but I'm happy to back as head coach of the Silver Ferns.
"It has been a tough process and I can understand through my experience - which I've actually never experienced in my 25 years as a coach - as to how people experience the legal system.
"It's something I wouldn't want to go through again."
She said support for her form many unexpected quarters had "blown me away".
"The public support that I received, the friends that I haven't been in touch with for a long time and past players. It's been really overwhelming," she said.
"It times I felt very isolated but all the support that I did get actually helped me to keep going."
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