It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since Casey Kopua, Laura Langman and Maria Tutaia pulled on their first little black netball dress. Since then, there have been dizzying highs – winning Commonwealth Games gold in 2006 and 2010 – and gutting lows such as the Commonwealth Games loss last year, and the still-raw one-goal defeat at the 2011 World Championships.
But the “big three” of New Zealand netball have seen each other through it all, as well as marriages, break-ups and career-threatening injuries – and as they exclusively reveal their 2015 World Cup playing strip to the Weekly, they say while at times it’s tough to keep on going, as soon as that little black dress goes on, nothing else matters.
“Some days are ridiculous,” laughs vice-captain Laura (29), who had to get up at 4am to squeeze in a training session before our photoshoot – “but come game day, that’s it. That’s why we train so hard and do all we do. To be able to wear something so significant and beautiful, that represents so much to so many people and all the different sides of yourself, it’s pretty special.”
From left: Silver Ferns Maria Tutaia, Casey Kopua and Laura Langman have been friends for more than a decade.
It’s something that has renewed poignancy for captain Casey (30). After suffering a horrific knee injury last year that left many wondering if she would ever return to top-level netball, the defender has defied all expectations to be back on the court at almost full fitness.
“It never gets old, putting that dress on before a game,” she says. “For me, that’s when everything changes, it’s a transformation from off-court Casey to on-court Casey.”
In the decade they’ve been team-mates – longer, when you count age-group teams – the trio have got to know pretty much everything there is to know about each other. They speak exclusively with nicknames – it’s “Case”, “Ria” and “Lauz”, along with a bevy of other monikers that you need a lot of context to understand – and their conversation ranges wildly from their partners and other team-mates to the latest Kardashian gossip.
“We’ve been through a lot together!” nods star shooter Maria (28). “We all debuted for the Silver Ferns in 2005 – me towards the end of the year and these guys in the middle. It’s our 10-year anniversary!”
“Oh, goodness, don’t talk in years, that makes us sound old,” Laura laughs.
All of them remember what it was like to put on that first black dress as they model the latest version, which comes compete with suede-like chamois down each side for wiping away sweat during
the game.
The friends feel most comfortable when they’re in their Ferns uniforms.
“These ones are quite technologically advanced, aren’t they?” muses Maria. “I put my first-ever dress on not too long ago. It’s like a sack!”
“When you look back at that first one, that one means real excitement,” Laura nods. “I remember thinking, ‘Holy moly, my dream has come true.’”
“It’s every little Kiwi girl’s dream, isn’t it?” Maria adds.
“Not mine!” grins Casey. “I wanted to be a clown when I was growing up. I didn’t even watch much netball until I was a bit older. I never thought any of this would ever happen.”
Changing out of their flash frocks for a quick cup of tea, Maria jokes that she and Laura look like Casey’s back-up dancers, while Laura reckons they’ve formed their own mini beige brigade. They all admit that while being styled and made-up is a special treat, it’s in their uniforms when they feel the most comfortable, despite the huge pressure they are all under to bring home New Zealand’s first gold since 2003 at this year’s World Cup in Sydney in August.
“We all loved getting all glammed up when we can,” Casey begins, “but…”
“There’s no place like home!” Laura finishes.
