Smith to coach NZ women
FORMER international Darren Smith will take over as the interim head coach of the Black Sticks women for the rest of the year.
He will lead the team through to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, including the world cup and this week's transtasman series.
Irishman Graham Shaw stood down last month after three years in charge to return home.
Smith, the high performance director for Hockey New Zealand, was previously the head coach of the Black Sticks men until September 2021. Before that, he was head coach of the Irish national women's side.
Smith played 212 tests for New Zealand from 1995 to 2012.
The Black Sticks women play Australia on the North Shore four times in five days, starting tonight.
It will be the first international hockey in over a year on New Zealand soil as well as 100 years since the first match between the two countries.
While the Kiwi women get an invaluable week of hockey under their belts, the men have to be patient.
Their series against Australia was postponed due to Covid in the squad. The four men’s transtasman tests will now be played on May 31 and June 2, 4 and 5.