As the Silver Ferns enter a new phase, they proudly carry the names of every player before them to have pulled on the coveted black dress.
Every Silver Fern from 1938 to early 2024 has their name subtly printed on the front and back panels of the black dress the New Zealand team are wearing in the Taini Jamison Trophy against the England Roses and the Constellation Cup with the Australian Diamonds.
It’s a mark of respect in Netball New Zealand’s centenary year.
“It’s unique; it’s special. And it’s an acknowledgement of every player who has worn the black dress and what they’ve done for us in carving the way,” says Silver Ferns coach, Dame Noeline Taurua.
“Not many people get to wear the black dress, to put their mark on it. And for the current group of players, it’s making the connection with those people and the bigger ecosystem of people who help them to get there.
“It’s why we are so strong in sport in New Zealand – it’s our identity and our connection to the past, the present and the future. Our understanding of our own place within netball and within society is more than winning, in my eyes.”
The unique dress design was the brainchild of Silver Ferns manager Esther Molloy, who wanted to do something special to acknowledge the history of the Ferns in New Zealand netball’s 100th year.
“I wondered how we could represent the beautiful history of the Silver Ferns, and carry everyone with us,” Molloy says.
At first, she looked at reinventing the black tunic Dame Lois Muir wore when she played for her country – one of her pleated uniforms hangs on the wall in Netball NZ’s Auckland office. Molloy wanted to use colour and patterns to mimic the dress’ pleats.
When that didn’t quite work, she went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea of having the names of all 187 Silver Ferns on the dress.
“I’d like to think they are there with us always, but the focus with this design is around honouring their names,” she says.
Molloy has also made a banner bearing the list of Silver Ferns – from No.1, New Zealand’s first captain Margaret Matangi in 1938, to the most recent, No. 187, Tayla Earle, who made her debut in January on the Nations Cup tour to England.
“It’s quite a unique group of women – 187 compared to more than one thousand All Blacks,” Molloy says. As of July this year, 1220 men have played for the All Blacks since 1905.
The dress will still have the five patiki (diamond shapes) at the back of the neckline, representing New Zealand’s five Netball World Cup victories.
Netball New Zealand ambassador and Silver Ferns centurion, Irene van Dyk, says the names dress is “priceless” – and she would love one for herself.
“How special is it, in our 100th year? And for the latest group of players realising they play for all of those women who came before them,” she says.
“In my day it wasn’t particularly told to us, but I think personally you know you are carrying the mana of all the people who have gone before you. Not only those who played for New Zealand, but everyone who’s had something to do with the game. So you’re just a small part of something much bigger.
“The statement ‘By women, for women’ hits you right between the eyeballs. Women with strength and passion who had the foresight to think this game could be something incredible. And then the passionate women who continue to carry that over.”
Seeing her own name on the dress brought Taurua flashbacks to the era that she featured on court for the Silver Ferns.
“It gives you that understanding that you belong to a pretty exclusive group. And when you’re in that group, you know you belong, and you can always call on anyone, no matter what. It always connects you back to your community,” she says.
As the Silver Ferns head into a new cycle – looking ahead to the 2027 Netball World Cup – the timing of this dress is “really good” for the team, Taurua says.
“Every time you start a new cycle, you’re starting afresh – different people, different combinations, different thinking. But you still need to anchor to a common point. And that is those people who’ve worn the dress before them,” she says.
“You need to understand what those people in past generations went through to represent our country. And it’s a commitment, or a challenge, to those players, to understand their backstory.
“Players like Joan Harnett, who travelled by ship to the first Netball World Cup in England in 1963. How crazy is that? We should never be moaning – we are so lucky to be playing in the professional era, where netball is now a viable career.”
Former Silver Ferns captain Harnett was one five women with experience of winning a world title – along with Rita Fatialofa, Dame Ruth Aitken, Belinda Colling and Casey Kopua – who met with the current crop of Silver Ferns at a recent training camp.
“They each told their own story, but there were common threads that ran through all of their stories,” Taurua says. “Their identity as a Silver Fern is strong.”