The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns ( or ), represent

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in th ...

in international

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

tournaments such as the

Netball World Cup The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and the New ...

, the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, the

Taini Jamison Trophy The Taini Jamison Trophy series is an international netball series hosted by Netball New Zealand. The series traditionally features New Zealand national netball team, New Zealand playing a series of Test match (netball), test matches against a ...

, the Constellation Cup, the

Netball Quad Series The Netball Quad Series, also referred to as the SANZEA Netball Quad Series, is an international netball series. The series traditionally features Australia national netball team, Australia, England national netball team, England, New Zealand nati ...

and the

Fast5 Netball World Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an annual international Fast5 netball competition. The competition, which began in October 2009, features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The competition is co ...

. They have also represented New Zealand at the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

. New Zealand made their

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

debut in

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

. As of 2023, New Zealand have been world champions on five occasions and Commonwealth champions twice. They are regularly ranked number two in the

World Netball Rankings The World Netball Rankings are published by the World Netball to make it possible to compare the relative strengths of internationally active national netball teams. Initially, rankings were based on the results from the World Netball Championsh ...

History

Formation and early years

On 20 August 1938, New Zealand, captained by

Margaret Matangi Margaret Kahurangi Matangi (9 July 1911 – 2 August 1990) was a New Zealand netball player. She captained the New Zealand team in their first Test match, in 1938 against Australia. Early life Born in New Plymouth on 9 July 1911, Matangi wa ...

, made their test debut in an away match against at

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Royal Park, Melbourne Royal Park is the largest of Melbourne's inner city parks (). It is located north of the Melbourne CBD, in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the suburb of Parkville, Victoria, Parkville. Many sporting facilities are provided incl ...

. Australia defeated New Zealand 40–11. This was the first netball Test between Australia and New Zealand. It was also the world's first international netball match. On 20 August 1948, New Zealand, captained by

Oonah Shannahan Oonah Fay Shannahan ( Murray; 3 September 1921 – 28 September 2022) was a New Zealand netball player. She captained the New Zealand team in their second Test match, in 1948 against Australia. Early life Shannahan was born Oonah Fay Murray ...

, hosted their first home test against Australia at Forbury Park. Australia defeated New Zealand 27–16.

Rivalry with Australia

New Zealand's main rivals in international netball are

. Between

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, the two teams dominated the

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and the New ...

and

tournaments. Since 2010 the two teams have also competed for the Constellation Cup. Notable and memorable clashes have included the finals of the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2011 World Netball Championships The 2011 World Netball Championships () was the 13th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ...

, the finals of the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

and the final match of the 2013 Constellation Cup.

Tournament history

Netball World Cup

New Zealand have competed at every

and/or

since the inaugural

tournament. At the 1963 tournament, New Zealand were captained by Pamela Edwards, with Lois Muir as vice-captain.

defeated New Zealand 37–36 in a closely contested final. After winning the

1967 World Netball Championships The 1967 World Netball Championships was the second edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial international netball competition. The 1967 tournament was held in Perth, Western Australia, and featured eight teams. New Zealand national ne ...

, New Zealand were world champions for the first time. The team was coached by Taini Jamison and captained by Judy Blair. In the final they beat Australia 40–43. Joan Harnett emerged as the star for New Zealand and was named player of the tournament. In 1996 the team was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

. At the 1979 World Netball Championships, New Zealand shared the gold medal with Australia and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. After winning the 1987 World Netball Championships, with a team coached by Lois Muir and captained by Leigh Gibbs, New Zealand were world champions for a third time. New Zealand were dominant in group play, winning all eight matches. That saw them advance to a final round with Australia,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and Trinidad and Tobago. New Zealand were the only team to win all three of their games and were subsequently declared world champions. In 1996, the 1987 team was also inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. At the

2003 World Netball Championships The 2003 World Netball Championships were the eleventh edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica from 10 to 20 July. After 100 matches, New Zeala ...

, with a team captained by Anna Rowberry, New Zealand won their fourth title. In the final they defeated Australia 49–47. At the 2003

Halberg Awards The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award was han ...

, the Silver Ferns won both the main award and were named Team of the Year. Their head coach,

Ruth Aitken Dame Ruth Ellina Aitken (née Fathers; born 31 July 1956) is a New Zealand former international-level netball player and former head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Biography Aitken was born in 1956 in Paeroa ...

, was named Coach of the Year and

Irene van Dyk Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a former netball international who represented both New Zealand and South Africa. Between 2000 and 2014 she made 145 senior appearances for New Zealand. She was a member of the New Zealand teams ...

, who scored 41 from 43 in the final, was named Sportswoman of the Year. New Zealand were world champions for a fifth time when, with a team captained by

Laura Langman Laura Robyn Langman (born 16 April 1986) is a retired New Zealand international netball player, who last played domestic netball for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Australian Super Netball league. Primarily a midcourt player, Langman is ...

and featuring Casey Kopua and Maria Folau, they won the

2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matches ...

. In just fourteen months, head coach

Noeline Taurua Dame Noeline Taurua (born 26 March 1968) is a New Zealand international netball coach and former representative player. She is currently head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Taurua was born in Papa ...

turned a team, demoralised at missing out on a medal at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, into world champions. New Zealand rebounded from a round robin defeat to Australia to defeat them 52–51 in the final. At the 2019 Halberg Awards, the Silver Ferns won both the Halberg Award Supreme and were named Team of the Year. Winning the 2019 Netball World Cup was declared New Zealand's Favourite Sports Moment and Taurua, was named Coach of the Year. The team were also awarded the 2019 Lonsdale Cup.

World Games

Between

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, New Zealand competed at the

, winning two gold and one silver medals. With a team captained by Lyn Parker, New Zealand defeated

39–37 in the final to win the inaugural title. At the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

tournament, a New Zealand team captained by

Waimarama Taumaunu Waimarama Taumaunu (born 18 October 1962), often known as Wai Taumaunu, is a New Zealand netball coach and former international netball player. Biography Taumaunu was born in Waipawa, New Zealand. She was a member of New Zealand's national ne ...

, defeated Australia 33–29. At the 1989

, the Silver Ferns were named Team of the Year and their head coach, Lyn Parker, was named Coach of the Year.

Commonwealth Games

New Zealand has competed at every netball tournament at the Commonwealth Games. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

they lost to

in a one-off match when netball was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

. Between

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

they played in every tournament final, winning two gold and three silver medals. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

New Zealand won the gold medal for the first time with a 60–55 win over Australia. In

, New Zealand, led by

Maria Tutaia Solonaima Maria Folau (née Tuta'ia; born 18 February 1987 in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. She played regularly for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Folau was born Solonaima ...

and

, won their second gold medal after they defeated Australia 66–64 in an epic encounter. Tutaia scored the winning goal in double extra time after 84 minutes of play. The Silver Ferns were also awarded the 2010 Lonsdale Cup.

Taini Jamison Trophy

Since 2008,

has hosted the

. The trophy is contested with visiting teams, other than

. Teams to compete have included

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Constellation Cup

Since 2010, New Zealand and

have competed for the Constellation Cup. New Zealand won the trophy for the first time in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and for a second time in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Netball Quad Series/Netball Nations Cup

Since

, New Zealand have competed in the

, playing against

and

. The Silver Ferns won their first Quad Series title in September 2017. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, the Quad Series was briefly replaced by a Nations Cup tournament. New Zealand won this tournament.

Fast5 Netball World Series

Since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, the ''Fast5 Ferns'' have played in the

. They have been the dominant team in the series. Between 2009 and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, they won seven of the nine tournaments played.

Players

Current squad

Notable past players

Most-capped internationals

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame

The following New Zealand netball internationals have been inducted into the

Selected captains

The following New Zealand netball internationals captained the team when they won the gold medal at the

, the

and the

Head coaches

Honours

* World Netball Championships/Netball World Cup **''Winners'':

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

**''Runners up'':

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

**''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

**''Winners'':

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

**''Runners Up'':

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Constellation Cup **''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

* Netball Quad Series/Netball Nations Cup **''Winners'': 2017 (August/September),

**''Runners Up'':

, 2017 (January/February),

**''Winners'':

: 2 **''Runners up'':

**''Winners'':

**''Runners up'':

* Lonsdale Cup **''Winners'': 2010, 2019 * Halberg Awards – Supreme Award **''Winners'': 2003, 2019 * Halberg Awards – Team of the Year **''Winners'': 1989, 2003, 2019 *

**''Inductees'': 1967, 1987

References

External links

Official team website
{{Navboxes , title=Tournaments , list1= {{INF Netball World Cup nav {{Commonwealth Games Netball {{Netball Quad Series {{Constellation Cup {{Taini Jamison Trophy {{Fast5 Netball World Series {{Netball at the World Games National netball teams of Oceania