Players have Anzac bond
This time of year is always special for the Southern Steel’s Te Paea Selby-Rickit.
Anzac commemorations played a strong role in her childhood and they continue to be an important time for her family.
Both Selby-Rickit’s greatgrandfathers – Hohepa Jacob and Tame Rikiti – fought in World War I as part of the Maori contingent, serving at Gallipoli and in western France.
‘‘It’s a really special time for my family. We always go down to the Anzac parade. My dad was quite close with his grandfather and he told us stories that he heard from his grandfather about the war. ‘‘We are really proud of it.’’ Selby-Rickit’s parents travelled to Gallipoli in 2013 when she was playing for the New Zealand under-21 team in Glasgow.
While in France, Jacob went to England for a time and did officer training at Cambridge University, competing for the highly respected educational institution in various sporting disciplines, including athletics and rowing.
Rikiti was wounded in Gallipoli and went to hospital in Malta before returning to the trenches.
After the troops withdrew from Gallipoli in November 1915, they were sent to England before being posted to France and Belgium for the next three years.
Rikiti was wounded again in France and recovered in an England hospital before returning once again to the battlefields.
The war ended at 11am on the November 11, 1918 – Armistice Day. However, the Maori contingent did not leave until March the following year.
‘‘I can’t even imagine what they both went through during the war, and the bravery and resilience it would have taken just to survive and come home to their families – and I hope we never have to,’’ Selby-Rickit said.
Team manager Clare Malthus’ great-uncle, Cecil Malthus, landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, and served with the New Zealand forces. His experiences and recollections are well documented within two published books.
Other players, including captain Wendy Frew and Shannon Francois, have relatives who fought overseas.
4.10pm Pulse v Swifts 2.18pm Fever v Magic 4.18pm Vixens v Tactix 7.10pm Mystics v Firebirds 7.40pm Steel v Thunderbirds (Dunedin)
The Steel take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Dunedin on Monday night, looking for their third win of the season.
It has been a campaign of growth for Selby-Rickit, who is having her first season as a starting player with the Steel.
‘‘It’s pretty much the first time that I’ve been playing week in, week out and I’m getting used to it.
‘‘At the start I was getting tired and wasn’t used to the full 60 minutes but I’m stepping up and loving it.’’ Selby-Rickit, who includes a two-hour nap in her game-day routine, said the Steel’s results this season had little to do with Liz Ellis’ assertion that New Zealand teams were not fit enough to run with their Australian counterparts. ‘‘I think we are fit enough, it’s just that consistency.
‘‘Our team this year, we’ve probably worked as hard as we ever have and we feel like we are fit enough to keep up with everyone. It’s shown in games against the Australian teams – it’s just personal errors and not finishing off games that we aren’t quite there,’’ she said.
‘‘We have been right up there, most of the games we’ve lost have been by seven or under. We are targeting the next few games, and I think it’s experience and game smarts that we need to work on.’’
The Steel hold no fears about the Thunderbirds, who are running last in the Australian conference but would be second if they were in the New Zealand conference. Thunderbirds shooter Carla Borrego needs only 13 goals to bring up 2500 goals in the transTasman competition.
The Steel have won two of the three games played between the two teams on New Zealand soil.
‘‘We’ve been watching a couple of their games and we are really excited to take them on.
‘‘We’ve forgotten what it feels like to win and if we could get a win under our belt, it will build some confidence and hopefully help us to push on for the next few games, because we’ve got a couple of must-win New Zealand games coming up,’’ Selby-Rickit said.
The Steel are anticipating a vital mini-series against the Pulse which will decide which team joins the Mystics and Magic in the playoffs. The Steel host the Pulse in Dunedin on May 2 before the return game two weeks later.
Meanwhile, the Pulse will be chasing their first win in Sydney when they take on the Swifts.
The Fever will try to defend the Challenge Trophy for the fifth time this season when they host the Magic. Fever import Erena Mikaere, who was with the Steel last season, leads the competition in blocks. The Vixens will be expected to beat the Tactix in Melbourne, while the Mystics will be aiming for their first-ever win over the Firebirds.