Celebrating NWC2015 - 50 days to go!

Today marks 50 days to go until Netball World Cup 2015! To celebrate the occasion, Netball New Zealand looks back on the 1991 World Netball Championships – the last time the event was held in Sydney…

Hallmarks of a New Zealand captain

It was a year of firsts and the 1991 World Netball Championships will go down in history as a ground-breaking event for all sorts of reasons.

The eighth World Netball Championships in Sydney was the inaugural year the tournament was played indoors after seven outdoor events since 1963.

The 1991 contest also saw the introduction of semi-finals and a final for the first time and the name also evolved from World Tournament to Championship.

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One thing that didn’t change was the intense rivalry between New Zealand and Australia with just one goal the difference between glory and defeat in the final, Australia winning through in a thriller 53-52.

Captain of the New Zealand team in 1991 was current Silver Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu playing her last tournament before retiring.

“If I look back with some perspective, and I don’t always, for us to really have pushed Australia the way we did, it was an okay way to go out.  I do think we could have won (New Zealand led for much of the game) but we were quite a young team up against a very formidable Australian team that went on to dominate the nineties,” she said.

Former teammate Tracey Fear clearly remembers Taumaunu’s speech following the disappointing one goal defeat.

“People were in awe of how she conducted herself, and her pride and demeanour in an agonising and hugely disappointing situation,” Fear recalled.

“It is that strength of character and her leadership that made her so highly respected.  She was just an outstanding player and captain.  Her off and on court leadership made her so inspirational and she turned that disappointment around.

“The way she played the game was completely uncompromising, hugely competitive and she always hated to lose.”

1991 World Netball Championships: Silver Ferns

Players: Waimarama Taumauni (captain), Sandra Edge (vice-captain), Julie Carter, Julie Cox, Robin Dillimore, Tracy Eyrl-Shortland, Joan Hodson, Leonie Leaver, Ana Noovao, Carron Topping, Sheryl Waite, Louisa Wall

Management: Lyn Parker (coach), Monica Leggatt (manager), Linda Hare (physiotherapist)

To keep up-to-date with the Silver Ferns on the road to NWC2015, visit silverferns.co.nz