Black Sticks continue fine tuning in Darwin

Black-Sticks-continue-fine-tuning-in-Darwin

The Black Sticks hit the shores of Darwin at the end of the month to compete at the International Hockey Open

The Black Sticks Women will hit the shores of Darwin at the end of the month to compete at the International Hockey Open.

The Four Nations series will see the Black Sticks, ranked fourth in the world, go up against Australia (3rd), Japan (10th) and India (13th) from 31 May – 4 June at the Marrara Hockey Stadium.

The tests are an important part of the side’s preparation for the Champions Trophy in London (19-27 June) and the Rio Olympic Games in August.

New Zealand open their campaign against India on Tuesday 31 May at 7:30pm (NZ time). All games will be streamed live and free of charge through Epicentre.tv

North Harbour striker Petrea Webster makes her comeback to the turf after missing the Hawke’s Bay Cup due to a broken nose and concussion suffered at training during January’s tour to Argentina.

Fellow Harbour striker Kirsten Pearce is also back in action having fully recovered from a broken thumb which happened at the Hawke’s Bay Cup.

Canterbury duo Sophie Cocks (currently on 96 caps) and Pippa Hayward (98 caps) are both likely to bring up their 100^th tests for New Zealand during the series.

Head coach Mark Hager said the Darwin games are another great opportunity to give players game time and acclimatisation to warm weather in the lead up to Rio.

“Darwin gives us the chances to continue looking at players and how they perform during high intensity games,” he said.

“We see the series as a valuable and critical part of our build up to the Champions Trophy and also Rio, which is what all are preparations are building towards this year.”

The entire Black Sticks squad arrive in Darwin on Saturday 28 May for a training block before those not playing in the series fly back to New Zealand.

Following the conclusion of the International Hockey Open, a team will be named to compete at the Champions Trophy in London.

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BLACK STICKS WOMEN
International Hockey Open, Darwin

• May 12th, 2016 in
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