Know your Netball World Cup coaches

The 2023 Netball World Cup will see some making their coaching debuts at the global tournament while for others it's familiar territory.

The Cape Town International Convention Centre will see 16 teams taking to the court for the prestigious event.

This will be the first time Africa hosts the competition since it started in 1963.

Spar Proteas coach Norma Plummer, and New Zealand’s Noeline Taurua are some of the more experienced mentors who will take to the technical bench while the likes of Ropafadzo Mutsauki of Zimbabwe and Wales’ Emily Handyside will take centre stage at the global event for the first time.

Norma Plummer - South Africa

Plummer is enjoying her second stint with the senior South African team, the Spar Proteas. In her first spell with the side, she guided the fifth-ranked country to a top-four finish, the first time in 25 years. The Australian-born coach will take to the technical bench in the 2023 edition of the competition hoping to emulate or better the team’s performance from the last edition.

The former Australian Diamond has won World Cup titles as both a player and a coach in her native country. She was the Australian coach between 2004 and 2011, where she won 67 of her 89 tests in charge and led the team to the Netball World Cup titles in 2007 and 2011. Before that, she was the coach of the Australian under-21 programme where she achieved back-to-back world titles in 1996 and 2000.

Stacey Marinkovich - Australia

Stacey Marinkovich will be leading the Diamonds to the global showpiece for the first time. The former West Coast Fever mentor was appointed the head coach of the world’s No 1 netball team in 2021 and since she took over the role she led the team to the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after beating Jamaica in the final.

Netball Australia saw the value in her and extended her contract which will see her remain at the helm for another four years, including the 2027 World Cup to be held in Sydney.

Noeline Taurua - New Zealand

Taurua’s spell at national level coaching started in 2011 when she became the unofficial assistant coach of the Silver Ferns. She was later officially appointed in the position only for her to call time on her coaching duties in 2013 from the Ferns after one and a half seasons.

After making a comeback to the sport, she was selected as the head coach of the team in August 2018. As the Silver Ferns head coach, New Zealand won the 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series and the 2019 edition of the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. Her side also won the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As a player, she has a bronze medal to her name from the 1995 edition of the World Cup before bagging the silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Jess Thirlby - England

Thirlby took over the Vitality Roses head coach position in 2019. Before the major appointment, she had already led other national teams including the England Under-17 and Under-19 teams between 2004 and 2005. She was also the head coach of England Under-21 as well as the assistant coach during two Netball World Youth Cups.

As a player, she won her first Superleague title with Team Bath in 2005-06, having already played for England at every level from under-16 to the senior team, which included competing at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games alongside former England head coach Tracey Neville. After finishing fourth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Thirlby will be hoping to lead the team to a better position and hopefully another podium finish.

Fred Mugerwa - Uganda

Mugerwa missed the 2015 edition of the competition by a whisker after he was sacked with just under three weeks to go to the tournament but he will be leading the She Cranes at their fourth World Cup in Cape Town. He led his side to an impressive showing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where Uganda claimed the fifth spot after defeating South Africa. Mugwera will be looking to better their finish from four years ago where they ended seventh in Liverpool, England.

Ropafadzo Mutsauki - Zimbabwe

Mutsauki helped guide the Gems to their second consecutive World Cup appearance. He was appointed head coach in 2022, taking over from Lloyd Makunde who led the side in 2019. Mutsauki’s side defeated Zambia in the third-place playoff at the Africa Netball World Cup qualifiers held in Pretoria in 2022 to secure a place for the Gems in the global finals for only the second time.

Sam Kanyenda - Malawi

Kanyenda will lead the Malawi Queens in Cape Town in his position as the team’s technical director. He was appointed as the technical director of netball in May 2020. He is temporarily in charge of the head coach position. He formerly led the Queens at the Fast5 Netball World Series in 2017 where the team finished sixth.

Connie Francis - Jamaica

Following a successful showing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games that ended in a silver medal, Francis will be hoping to guide the team to the top of the podium in Cape Town. Francis was roped into the team in 2019 following a disappointing appearance by Jamaica in Liverpool. This is not her first spell with the team, she had last coached the Sunshine Girls in 2011. The experienced Francis guided Jamaica to the bronze medal position at the 2007 edition of the World Cup and second at the inaugural Fast5 World Series in England in 2009.

As a player Francis represented Jamaica at five World Cup competitions and she is one of the country’s most capped players with over 120 appearances for Jamaica.

Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson - Tonga

Pori-Makea-Simpson will lead the Tala to only their second World Cup. It’s the first time in Tongan history that the nation has made it to the final pool stage of the tournament, after previously taking part in the 1999 preliminary rounds in New Zealand. Pori-Makea-Simpson led Tonga through the Oceania Netball World Cup qualifiers undefeated last year. She has also coached the side to the silver medal at the 2019 Pacific Games. The Tala will go into the global tournament sitting at an impressive seventh position in the world rankings.

Emily Handyside – Wales

Handyside will be leading the Welsh Feathers to the World Cup for the first time after her appointment in January. She was first appointed as technical coach in September 2022 and helped the Feathers qualify for Cape Town. Her extensive coaching career spans from Superleague sides Team Bath and Leeds Rhinos but she has also been the England Under-21 head coach, where she led the squad to a bronze medal at the 2017 World Youth Cup as well as being assistant coach for the England Futures, achieving a Fast5 gold medal.

Tamsin Greenway - Scotland

Greenway took over the reins in 2021. Before being appointed as head coach of the Scottish Thistles, Tamsin Greenway had been at the helm of the Under-21 Roses side that competed in the 2017 edition of the Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana. The former Roses player will be hoping to get the Thistles to secure a top-10 position in Cape Town to improve on their 11th-place finish from the 2019 edition. As a player, Greenway represented England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games where the English took bronze. She also finished in third position at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cup tournaments.