Plummer: from heartbreak to hero
July 25, 2015
Norma Plummer has sat through her share of memorable trans-Tasman clashes leaving her with a myriad of emotions.
The highs of success can be dizzying but as Norma Plummer knows, the lows can plunge you into darkness – and the bench can be one of the hardest places to experience those emotions the new SPAR Proteas coach believes.
“You can see what’s going to happen before it actually happens and you can’t do anything about it,” she says.
Join the Silver Ferns on the road to NWC2015 – secure your seat to see them take on the SPAR Proteas!
Plummer remembers vividly as Australian shooter Catherine Cox lined up to net a goal which would have won the Diamonds the Commonwealth Games crown in Delhi in 2010.
“She took the backwards step and I knew as soon as she did that it wouldn’t go in.”
What unfolded in that game was a double-overtime epic which many describe as the greatest game of Netball ever.
The two teams played seven minutes each way of over-time and then endured another 16 minutes of sudden death Netball where one of the teams had to win by two goals.
It was Silver Ferns goal attack Maria Tutaia who sunk the winning goal (66-64) and with it Plummer’s shot at picking up Commonwealth Games gold with the Diamonds – one of the few disappointments in her extensive coaching career.
“I was quite shattered that we didn’t have it and you do go through a mourning process,” Plummer says.
“I remember ringing Natalie von Bertouch up and said ‘how are you?’. She sounded awful and said ‘I just still can’t believe it….’, and this was weeks and weeks after the game.
“You certainly grieve and as a player or a coach it can be a bloody hard thing to pick yourself up from.”
Missed part 1 of our catch-up with Norma? Click here to read!
For Plummer however, it only fuelled her passion to get one back over her greatest netballing nemesis a year later when the teams met again in the World Championship final in Singapore.
The Diamonds coach had drowned herself in footage of the devastating Delhi defeat and had eyes for just one player – Maria Tutaia.
The star Ferns player was the stand out in the Commonwealth Games match sinking an amazing 41 from 50 attempts at goal.
For Plummer it meant honing in on her shot.
The two teams met in Singapore to determine which side would be crowned world champion in 2011 and despite Tutaia being “well managed” by the Australian defence, the final again went into overtime.
Missed part 2 of our catch-up with Norma? Click here to read
It had been at halftime – when the Silver Ferns led by six and looked en-route to claiming the world crown – that Plummer showed her strengths as coach by putting faith in one of her rookies to take the game back for the Diamonds.
“If you know your players you’ll know when they’re going,” Plummer says. “They have certain traits they start doing and for (Cath) Coxy, she starts running and if she’s running in circles you think ‘that’s gone’ and you’re not going to pull it back at that stage.
“We were six down and I thought I’m going to give these kids a crack now.”
Enter Caitlin Bassett into the fray and the game changed as the Ferns’ defence became indecisive in whether to double team the tall shooter which only opened up goal attack Natalie Medhurst to finish the job.
“I’m never scared in that if I’ve coached these kids I know them and I knew if Caitlin pulled it in she’d shoot it and she did,” Plummer says.
“The Ferns became fragmented … At that point I knew we had it although in saying that it still goes down to the wire. But we could have been well and truly beaten and as coach that wasn’t an option.”
The Diamonds went on to win the final (58-57, with Bassett netting the winning goal) and send Plummer, who stepped down from her role after the championships, out on the ultimate high.
Next: What Norma Plummer makes of the game on the global stage and why New Zealand will always hold a special place for her.
Want more great insights like this, PLUS cool videos and special offers? Join the team and become a SilverFan today!
The highs of success can be dizzying but as Norma Plummer knows, the lows can plunge you into darkness – and the bench can be one of the hardest places to experience those emotions the new SPAR Proteas coach believes.
“You can see what’s going to happen before it actually happens and you can’t do anything about it,” she says.
Join the Silver Ferns on the road to NWC2015 – secure your seat to see them take on the SPAR Proteas!
Plummer remembers vividly as Australian shooter Catherine Cox lined up to net a goal which would have won the Diamonds the Commonwealth Games crown in Delhi in 2010.
“She took the backwards step and I knew as soon as she did that it wouldn’t go in.”
What unfolded in that game was a double-overtime epic which many describe as the greatest game of Netball ever.
The two teams played seven minutes each way of over-time and then endured another 16 minutes of sudden death Netball where one of the teams had to win by two goals.
It was Silver Ferns goal attack Maria Tutaia who sunk the winning goal (66-64) and with it Plummer’s shot at picking up Commonwealth Games gold with the Diamonds – one of the few disappointments in her extensive coaching career.
“I was quite shattered that we didn’t have it and you do go through a mourning process,” Plummer says.
“I remember ringing Natalie von Bertouch up and said ‘how are you?’. She sounded awful and said ‘I just still can’t believe it….’, and this was weeks and weeks after the game.
“You certainly grieve and as a player or a coach it can be a bloody hard thing to pick yourself up from.”
Missed part 1 of our catch-up with Norma? Click here to read!
For Plummer however, it only fuelled her passion to get one back over her greatest netballing nemesis a year later when the teams met again in the World Championship final in Singapore.
The Diamonds coach had drowned herself in footage of the devastating Delhi defeat and had eyes for just one player – Maria Tutaia.
The star Ferns player was the stand out in the Commonwealth Games match sinking an amazing 41 from 50 attempts at goal.
For Plummer it meant honing in on her shot.
The two teams met in Singapore to determine which side would be crowned world champion in 2011 and despite Tutaia being “well managed” by the Australian defence, the final again went into overtime.
Missed part 2 of our catch-up with Norma? Click here to read
It had been at halftime – when the Silver Ferns led by six and looked en-route to claiming the world crown – that Plummer showed her strengths as coach by putting faith in one of her rookies to take the game back for the Diamonds.
“If you know your players you’ll know when they’re going,” Plummer says. “They have certain traits they start doing and for (Cath) Coxy, she starts running and if she’s running in circles you think ‘that’s gone’ and you’re not going to pull it back at that stage.
“We were six down and I thought I’m going to give these kids a crack now.”
Enter Caitlin Bassett into the fray and the game changed as the Ferns’ defence became indecisive in whether to double team the tall shooter which only opened up goal attack Natalie Medhurst to finish the job.
“I’m never scared in that if I’ve coached these kids I know them and I knew if Caitlin pulled it in she’d shoot it and she did,” Plummer says.
“The Ferns became fragmented … At that point I knew we had it although in saying that it still goes down to the wire. But we could have been well and truly beaten and as coach that wasn’t an option.”
The Diamonds went on to win the final (58-57, with Bassett netting the winning goal) and send Plummer, who stepped down from her role after the championships, out on the ultimate high.
Next: What Norma Plummer makes of the game on the global stage and why New Zealand will always hold a special place for her.
Want more great insights like this, PLUS cool videos and special offers? Join the team and become a SilverFan today!