Netball coaching great Robyn Broughton dies

The New Zealand netball community is in mourning following news of the death of Robyn Broughton, Aotearoa's most successful domestic coach, at the age of 80.

Netball NZ remembered Broughton, best known for the Southern Sting's domestic domination under her leadership between 1998 and 2007, in a statement this morning.

"Robyn Broughton was an incredible woman that gave a huge amount to our game, the most successful domestic coach in our history, winning seven titles in the National Bank Cup,” it said.

"She was a Netball New Life Member, Silver Ferns assistant coach and a mentor to many of the coaches who now in the Netball NZ High Performance system.

"She had a huge impact on the players and people she came in contact with her and made Southland the true home of Netball in her time."

Born in Lower Hutt, Broughton headed south to the University of Otago in 1961 for a Diploma in Physical Education with her reputation as top netball player already well established after being named as a non-travelling reserve for New Zealand the previous year.

During her playing days, she represented Hutt Valley, Otago and Southland and captained the latter two provinces. She also captained Otago University and New Zealand Universities.

But her best was yet to come as a coach, where as coach of the Sting she won a record seven national titles across 10 seasons.

In a dominant era, Broughton led the Sting for 100 matches, returning an impressive 82 percent win record which was 14 percent better than any other coach.

With the introduction of the trans-Tasman league in 2008, Broughton stayed on as coach of the newly-established Southern Steel and remained there until 2011 before moving north to coach the Central Pulse from 2012-15.

Broughton's success saw her earn international coaching honours, assisting the Silver Ferns for two years between 2000 and 2001 before leading the FastNet Ferns to the world series title in 2010 when the shorter form of the game was introduced.

For her impact on the domestic scene, the ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year award was named in her honour with recipients receiving the Robyn Broughton Trophy since 2021.

Late in her career, Broughton also spent time in the UK Superleague.