McCaw takes a sabbatical from national squad
Gemma McCaw’s Black Sticks career is on hold after making herself unavailable for next month’s Oceania Cup.
Coach Mark Hager confirmed McCaw had spoken with him during the National Hockey League last week and said she needed more time away from hockey to focus on her career and family life.
‘‘She spoke to me last week and just said she needed a bigger break from hockey. Hopefully that doesn’t mean the door is closed for future selection,’’ Hager said.
‘‘She has her work commitments she wants to concentrate on, she’s married; just wants to get her life in order,’’ Hager said.
The 27-year-old McCaw (nee Flynn), who has 246 New Zealand caps, was dominant for the winning Midland side in the national competition, but had approached Hager
late in the week at the Wellington tournament.
Hager said both himself and McCaw had left the door open, along with several other players who had missed selection. ‘‘We have both sort of left the door open and it depends what happens over the next few years.’’
McCaw could not be reached for comment.
The Black Sticks squad of 18, named yesterday, includes 11 players who played in the weekend’s National Hockey League final between Midlands and Northland.
Hager said the selection process was tougher than usual, but he was happy with his side.
‘‘It’s good and bad; now I have to have some tough conversations with some great players.’’
Hager said after losing some speedy players from the squad which went to the 2016 Rio Olympics, such as McCaw, he was looking to replace them with similar styled players.
‘‘By no means is anyone who has missed out on selection this week out of contention for future selection,’’ Hager said.
Versatile defender and captain Stacey Michelsen is the most capped player with 235 tests to her name while eight others have played over 100 games. There are likely to be two significant milestones chalked up
during the event with Samantha Charlton one match away from her 200th test while goalkeeper Sally Rutherford is on 147 caps.
North Harbour defender Stephanie Dickins and Midlands defender/midfielder Tarryn Davey have both been rewarded for an impressive performance throughout the week at the NHL.
‘‘We have a few changes from our team which played at the World League semifinal in Belgium and it shows the quality of depth we have with competition for spots,’’ Hager said.
While the side has already quali-
fied for next year’s world cup they are plenty motivated to beat the Australians and Papua New Guinea, said Hager.
The Oceania Cup runs from 11-15 October at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre. Held every two years, the Oceania Cup is the continental championship for the Oceania region with the winner of each gender automatically qualifying for the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
Each nation will play each other in the pool rounds before the top two ranked nations face off in the gold medal match for the Oceania Cup title.