Pietie’s back in the fold to bring SA magic touch
ACE hockey striker Pietie Coetzee is set to return to topflight action today as her South African women’s team look to produce some magic against Argentina in their World Cup opener tonight.
The competition in the Netherlands kicked off yesterday, but the SA men’s and women’s teams begin their campaigns today — the women against world No 2 Argentina and the men taking on Germany, also ranked second.
SA’s women are 11th and the men 12th.
Coetzee, the world’s most prolific goalscorer with 280 strikes in 281 tests, had not been included in the initial squad because she was recovering from a knee injury.
There had been hopes she would be fit in time for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, from July 23 to August 3, but the door opened for her this week after an injury to Lenise Marais.
Coezee, 35, was just 19 when she played in SA’s first-ever World Cup game in 1998, and she scored both goals then in a 2-1 victory.
She went on to score eight goals in that tournament, and hammered in another eight four years later.
The SA ladies have played Argentina just twice at the World Cup — in 2006 and 2010 — and netted twice on both occasions.
In 2006 it was a 2-2 draw against a side that finished third. In 2010 they were handed a 2-5 drubbing by a team that went on to win the tournament.
The 2010 match was also their tournament opener — something that has become an omen. SA’s first contest of the 2012 London Olympics was also against Argentina and they were hammered 7-1.
“We learned from that,” says goalkeeper Sanani Mangisa, who has also recently returned from a lengthy layoff after snapping her Achilles tendon. I’ll put my head on a block that we won’t get a repeat of that. This team has grown immensely.” Captain Marsha Cox agrees. “Seven or eight who were there in that opening match don’t want that bitter taste again.”
Women’s coach Giles Bonnet is targeting a top-eight finish, which means they have to come in the top four of their six-team pool that also includes Germany (6th), England (3rd), China (7th) and the US (10th).
The South Africans are the only truly amateur team
History is not on the side of SA’s men either.
They have won just one World Cup match in three tournaments so far this millennium — a 4-3 victory over Pakistan four years ago.
In fact, Coetzee’s eight goals at a single World Cup exceeds the total number scored by the entire SA men’s team at the 1994 (five goals), 2002 (six) and 2006 (six) tournaments.
They managed 17 in 2010 and 1998.
The South Africans are the only truly amateur team at the showpiece.
All their opponents are paid to play hockey for their countries.
The men’s team nearly didn’t get to Holland because of insufficient funding, but were saved by two late sponsors.
The women’s team, with a full-time sponsor since 2010, have upped their game time.
They have played more than 150 tests since then, compared with just 17 in the two years from 2008.