Kiwi coach Taurua 's**t scared' of Proteas counterpart Plummer

As New Zealand prepare to take on South Africa in their crucial 2023 Netball World Cup clash on Wednesday, Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua has candidly admitted she is intimidated by her South African counterpart Norma Plummer. 

The two teams have a break on Tuesday but meet in Wednesday’s crunch second preliminary stage group G clash.

As the battle continues for semifinal spots Taurua admitted she is “s**t scared” of Plummer. 

Taurua and Plummer, both Australian, go back a long way since their days when they coached in the former trans-Tasman league.

Plummer, who is widely respected in netball coaching and reached 100 international wins at the World Cup as the Proteas began with a victory against Wales, was in charge of the Perth-based West Coast Fever while Taurua coached Plenty Magic of Waikato Bay. 

Taurua said she was not particularly looking forward to going toe to toe with Plummer again. 

“Not particularly, she scares the s**t out of me. She is awesome, she is one of the best, she is a legend and I have so much respect for her,” the Kiwis' coach said after their second stage win over Wales on Monday. 

“This is what it's all about, this is what we live for, we are entering the business end of the World Cup. One thing we always say is we want to enjoy the moment, we don’t want to be caught up in the pressure of expectation.

“We are here to play to win and our mantra hasn’t changed.” 

Taurua knows New Zealand will also be up against a hostile crowd at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) that has been so much part of the Proteas' campaign so far.

“One thing we learnt when we were here in January for the Quad Series is it's not only South Africa but it’s the people who are sitting in the stands, and I am not too sure who scares me the most. It is going to be vocal out there.

“I think during the game against Jamaica [a first stage defeat for South Africa] they [the Proteas] may not have been happy with what they put up because I know they are a better team. I have so much respect for 'Plums' [Plummer] and it's all on.” 

Netball Proteas assistant coach Dumisani Chauke said they will be ready for the crunch match against one of the tournament favourites which the Proteas may need to win to keep their semifinal hopes alive. 

“In terms of confidence levels our girls know they can compete and they have proved that time and again. New Zealand are going to be a tough opponent but anything is possible.

“Uganda took the game to them the other day and only lost by 10 goals. So, I don’t really think the New Zealand game is a make-or-break one because we still have Uganda on Thursday. We are coming up against strong teams and it is a test of character for us.” 

Both teams go into Wednesday's match having lost key players in Lenize Potgieter for South Africa and Grace Nweke for New Zealand. Chauke said the Proteas will readjust their strategy.

“When you meet New Zealand you can’t just strategise or plan your game around one player — it is a team sport for a reason. We are going back to the drawing board, we have an off-day but we will be doing preparations like video analysis and going through things we need to sharpen. 

“We met them in January in the Quad Series here at the CTICC. They made changes to their game and structure and we struggled to adapt. We will be looking to prepare better so when we meet them on Wednesday we are the better-prepared side. 

“It is unfortunate that they have also lost Grace and I think it is the positioning of how hard the tall goal shooters land and their legs and knees take [a beating]. We hear it is a knee injury and we wish her a speedy recovery.” 

Tuesday's preliminary stage 2 fixtures:

Barbados v Singapore (9am)

Australia v Malawi (11am)

Tonga v Scotland (4pm)

Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka (6pm)

Fiji v England (8pm)

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