Bay of Plenty sevens player Kelly Brazier scoring the winning try against Australia. Photo / Photosport
Bay of Plenty sevens player Kelly Brazier scoring the winning try against Australia. Photo / Photosport
It was a gold rush weekend for Bay of Plenty athletes at the Commonwealth Games, with the Black Sticks women and both New Zealand sevens teams making history on the Gold Coast.
On Saturday, the Black Sticks women beat hosts Australia 4-1 to win gold for the first time in six Commonwealth Games attempts.
Then Bay of Plenty sevens player Kelly Brazier, who lives in Mount Maunganui, scored a long-range match-winning try after the final hooter in extra time to win the New Zealand women gold against Australia on Sunday.
Western Bay has four home-grown players in the winning Black Sticks side – Sam Charlton, Rose Keddell, Frances Davies and Amy Robinson.
Keddell was one of four New Zealand players to score in the final, extending her side's lead over the Hockeyroos with the second goal in a penalty corner.
Tauranga Hockey Association general manager Clinton Butler watched the gold medal match unfold at home and said "it was blimmin' exciting".
"It's fantastic to have four local girls in the final with the Black Sticks and obviously Rose scoring was fantastic as well. Really proud and I know the whole association is as well."
Butler said some members of the association were able to make it across to the Gold Coast to watch.
"It's inspiring for the next generation, especially within our association, to know that you've got the ability to push on and play on the big stage," he said.
"The fact that we've got four girls coming home with Commonwealth Games gold medals is fantastic. We're lucky that all four of the girls are really great individuals and they give back."
Western Bay's Rose Keddell and Sam Charlton celebrate their Commonwealth Games gold medals after beating Australia in the women's hockey final. Photo / Photosport
Meanwhile, the Black Ferns sevens team claimed the first women's Commonwealth Games sevens gold medal when they beat Australia 17-12 on Sunday.
Brazier's heroic try won New Zealand the game and stunned the 27,000-strong crowd at Robina Stadium.
"The tank was pretty empty but I looked at the skip and she gave me the heads up to go," she said after the match.
"When the gap opened I pinned my ears back and away I went. To do something like that at a crucial moment is pretty special. It's always special to beat Aussie on home turf at a Comm Games after the heartbreak in Rio. It's one I won't forget easily."
The New Zealand men's sevens team also won gold on Sunday, beating Olympic champions Fiji 14-0 in the final.
It was their fifth Commonwealth Games sevens gold to go with the silver from Glasgow four years ago.
Victoria Grant, Bay of Plenty sevens coach, was at the Gold Coast as a coach intern with the New Zealand women's team.
She was at the stadium for both wins.
"It was incredible to watch the women's final, it was an epic clash," Grant told the Bay of Plenty Times.
"The girls did so well to keep calm and for Kelly to finish off with a 90m try was amazing," she said.
"Kelly played every minute of every game and in the end had enough in the tank to finish it off. I think these gold medals will have a big effect on all the boys and girls in New Zealand as it was a great display of athleticism, skill set and sheer determination."
Other Bay of Plenty players who played in the sevens finals were Gayle Broughton and Michaela Blyde in the women's and Scott Curry (co-captain) and Regan Ware in the men's.
