The netball world received a glimpse of Noeline Taurua's international coaching potential after the Silver Ferns 61 to 37 win over South Africa.
Noeline Taurua celebrates her first win Silver Ferns head coach Photo: © www.Photosport.nz 2018
A true measure is what you can produce after a heavy defeat and Taurua more than proved her capability in the 24 point win over the Proteas last night in Tauranga.
It began with starting Laura Langman in the preferred centre position and Michaela Sokolich-Beatson at wing defence (who is acting as cover for injured defender Temalisi Fakahokotau) over Sam Sinclair - one of the many courageous moves to increase strength in combinations.
Taurua has made no secret in looking for the right connections and this start saw her side breeze out to score 11 unanswered goals from the outset.
"We can take a lot away from this game as to the areas we know we did well and know that we can be successful when we set certain structures," says Taurua
"Irrelevent of the scoreboard we've got to have a lot of fight and heart and look strategic like we know what we're doing and tonight there were moments of that."
Another new feature was watching the amount of times long range specialist Maria Folau rolled around her defender 360 degrees to claim her spot on the baseline to shoot directly under the hoop.
Nearly 13 years since she made her international debut, Folau has always been renowned for her accurate shooting at distance but Taurua recognised a blemish in the tact.
Silver Ferns shooter Maria Folau shooting a goal Photo: © www.Photosport.nz 2018
Folau was spending too much time outside of the circle banking on long shots that didn't pull-off against England on Saturday, and in 72 hours Taurua's goal of breaking old habits came to fruition with Folau shooting at an astonishing 95 percent.
"I've never seen so many times where she has shot the ball under the hoop, there was an intent there to work with the other shooter and she wants to learn," says Taurua
"When we work together we are a force and she has to be connected to the other shooter knowing where the defence is and moving into the space."
While South Africa didn't deliver the same intensity of England, it was clear to see the changes made and the intent to execute Taurua's masterplan.
A strong start was a pivotal moment of the match, but the equally strong finish was even more impressive finishing both quarters 17 to seven a strong improvement in contrast to their performance in Auckland.
The consistent performance gave Taurua the luxury of giving Central Pulse shooter Aliyah Dunn her debut who signed off a significant win for the Silver Ferns.
It's back to the drawing board for Taurua whose attention now turns to Australia who they play on Sunday afternoon. With a different team, comes a different plan and Taurua will start the process by speaking to each player individually.
"Australia are another beast in itself so we have just got to bring ourselves back together again and keep ourselves humble and grounded," says Taurua.
"We have a responsibility of wearing the fern with pride and putting a product or performance out there that we are proud about."
- RNZ
