Dom Thomas
Wellington, June 2, 2022
Twenty players, including two travelling reserves, have been selected for the FIH Women’s World Cup campaign in July.
Taking place in the Netherlands and Spain, the World Cup will see the Vantage Black Sticks women (VBSW) take on England, India, and China in the group stages. The team will play three matches against Spain and one each against the Netherlands and Chile in the lead up to the tournament.
Interim Head Coach Darren Smith, along with the selection panel, chose the twenty players after evaluating performances in the recent North vs South and Trans-Tasman series.
“This is an exciting time for our women’s programme with quite a young team –it will be fantastic to give these players an early opportunity to test themselves at a pinnacle event against the best in the world. There will be some real tests, but I have a lot of belief in our young group to give some cracking performances and stamp their mark at the international level. This is where heroes are made and I am sure that all of New Zealand will be right behind them,” Smith said.
Hockey New Zealand Chief Executive Anthony Crummy believes that the World Cup will showcase the excellent work that has been put in behind the scenes within the VBSW programme.
“Even though the results of the recent series against Australia didn’t go our way, there were many positives in our performances that point to a bright future for this group. I am looking forward to seeing this team on the big stage and I know that they make our country proud,” he said.
The squad selection also highlights the remarkable return of Aniwaka Haumaha (nee Roberts). Haumaha, who was unavailable for selection camps this year due to her wedding, had not played for the VBSW in seven years. Now a mother of two, and after several years of wondering if the dream was over, she impressed selectors after being called up to face Australia and will get the opportunity to add to her 71 caps.
The team departs for Europe in early June with their first match at the World Cup in Amsterdam on July 2. The full draw can be found here.
The Squad
Kaitlin Cotter, Anna Crowley, Tarryn Davey, Frances Davies, Stephanie Dickins, Katie Doar, Madi Doar, Aniwaka Haumaha, Megan Hull, Ella Hyatt-Brown, Alia Jaques, Tessa Jopp, Tyler Lench, Alex Lukin, Olivia Merry, Grace O’Hanlon, Hope Ralph, Brooke Roberts, Olivia Shannon, Rose Tynan
Aussies slam Black Sticks Men
The Black Sticks men were hammered 8-1 by Australia in the opening Hockey Test in Auckland.
The new look New Zealand side, without eight players, struggled with the pace and quality of the attack of the Olympic silver medallists.
The Black Sticks fielded six debutants while the Kookaburras fielded a largely unchanged side from their Olympic campaign – with two of their players having more caps than the entire Black Sticks team.
Defender David Brydon opened the scoring for the game early in the second quarter finding himself open in the inner circle and coolly slotting home to put the kiwis up 1-0.
The lead did not last long, however, with the Kookaburras scoring three in quick succession to show why they’re the world’s best and put themselves up 3-1 at the half.
Game two of the four-match series is Thursday (June 3, 2002) night.
Dom Thomas is Content and Communications Manager at Hockey New Zealand.
