Black Sticks to host USA in Rangiora
It will be a battle between fifth and sixth in the world when the Black Sticks face the USA at Rangiora’s Waimakariri Hockey Stadium this weekend.
For the first time, North Canterbury will host a New Zealand senior international team of any sport and former St Margaret’s College student and Black Sticks midfielder Pippa Hayward says its a real boost for the Canterbury players.
‘‘It is exciting, its cool to be down here,’’ she said.
Hayward spent the better half of 15 years in Canterbury where she developed her hockey career and was first named in the Black Sticks squad four years ago.
Originally a Southlander, Hayward moved to Christchurch aged 11 where she attended Templeton Primary School near Rolleston.
‘‘Canterbury is obviously a big part of my hockey career and I owe them a lot and my coaches as well. It’s a big part of my hockey past.’’
Although Hayward is now based in Auckland she still represents Canterbury every year in the National Hockey League. Also a former Canterbury University student, many of Hayward’s friends and family are still based in the city and will be attending the two-test series.
This is the first time in two years the Black Sticks have returned to the region, the last match being played at Marist Park against Argentina.
The new $2 million Waimakariri Hockey Turf is the same surface the Black Sticks played on at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Both sides trained in Rangiora yesterday and Hayward said the turf lived up to its expectations.
‘‘It was really nice, it was flat. I really liked it you could hit the ball really flat and it didn’t seem that heavy. Sometimes a brand new turf can be quite slow. It’s not super fast. Right up there.’’
The local Hinemoa-Kaiapoi Hockey Club and Rangiora Hockey Club are two of the oldest clubs in the country dating back to 1895 and 1898 respectively.
While the USA (6th) are ranked below the Black Sticks (5th) the series means a lot to the team in their lead-up to next week’s Hawke’s Bay Cup where they will face nearest rivals Australia (4th).
‘‘The States are a really good team because they’re really competitive, they’re very aggressive in the way that they play and they’re very, very fit. They’re a top side and have actually done really well in the past five years. They’ve come up the ranks quite a lot,’’ said Hayward.
‘‘It [Hawke’s Bay Cup] is the main event I suppose if you look at it, but when you break it down, these are test matches and every time you go out there you want to make sure you give it 100 per cent and put your best foot forward. We take every game and every test match seriously.’’
The team will use the Hawke’s Bay Cup as preparation for the world league to qualify for the Hockey World Cup.
At 26, Hayward is one of the oldest in the team, as the young Black Sticks side is in a new development stage. While there are still some seasoned players, including Stacey Michelsen (221 tests), Olivia Merry (148), Rose Keddell (144) and Liz Thompson (130), many are coming to grips with the international scene.
‘‘I think we’ve got a pretty good group at the moment.’’
‘‘We are always young. I don’t know what it is. I think it’s just a massive commitment that it makes it quite hard to sustain, which is a shame. Hopefully that changes over time and it comes more sustainable. ‘‘I think there comes a point in some peoples lives that maybe they want to move on and do other things. They want to have a career.’’
Hayward, who was unavailable for the recent series against Argentina in Buenos Aires, hasn’t played since October.