"Don't call me Dame, call me 'Noels.'"
Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua is humbled but very much a reluctant recipient of her new title of Dame.
The 51-year-old has been honoured for her services to netball - a sport that the former international has been involved in for over 40 years.
Dame Noeline, who led the Silver Ferns to World Cup gold in 2019, doesn't want her damehood to belittle the work others have done in the resurrection of New Zealand netball as an international force.
"I respect the honour but it doesn't change who I am or my focus and role within netball," she told Newshub.
"I do acknowledge and recognise so many people who have been involved in our sport for a long period of time and their contribution at not only the elite level but the grassroots as well.
"So my whole philosophy is centred around the collective and noting that everybody has their role to play.
"I guess being singled out as an individual doesn't sit well with me but I'm looking at the positives that come out of this sort of recognition."
Dame Noeline admits the title of Dame doesn't sit particularly comfortably with her, but she understands the importance of the title and the respect it garners.
The dedicated mother, wife and coach told Newshub she's still the same Noeline that turns up for work every day and doesn't want anyone to treat her differently.
"It's tremendously humbling and I obviously don't want to disrespect the honour but having kids and a family to go home to, puts everything in perspective," she says.
"It's quite surreal and while I'm really proud and honour to receive the damehood, I'm still just Noeline or 'Noels' - I don't want that to change."
New Zealand's stunning World Cup win provided one of the best comeback stories of the 2019 sporting calendar.
Dame Noeline replaced former coach Janine Southby in 2018 following a disastrous Commonwealth Games campaign that saw the Silver Ferns finish without a medal for the very first time.
The New Zealand side under Dame Noeline proved a far better outfit after she was able to entice back national greats Laura Langman and Casey Kopua.
The Ferns won a scintillating final against Australia by a goal in Liverpool to secure the World Cup for a fifth time.
Dame Noeline pinpoints that moment as the standout of her coaching career, but don't expect her to rest on her laurels with a busy campaign approaching in 2020 and beyond.
"With the Netball World Cup win and what it means to everyone involved in our sport that was the 100 percent pinnacle achievement for me," she says.
"The final was a momentous occasion that will be part of my life for a long time… it was very special.
"It's been a cracker of the year but now the job is to back that up in 2020 and take it to another level."
Dame Noeline's long-term future as the national coach remains a mystery. Netball New Zealand has secured her services until the end of 2020, but beyond that neither party is willing to commit.
Which is why Dame Noeline is heavily focused on the personal development of anyone who emerges as a potential future coach of the Silver Ferns.
"The long-term goal centres around being back-to-back World Champions in 2023 and doing what I can to assist with that," she says.
"Over the next year I'm excited and focused about what's ahead and not only with the Silver Ferns but also what's underneath the elite, both in terms of coaches and players.
"It's irrelevant to me if I'm here or not in the future, it's important we create a pathway for the next generation of coaches and players and develop them the best we can.
"That's my big focus over the next year and I also have an eye on the winning that Constellation Cup in October."
