Consistent performances brings national selection

Greg Moss was so taken aback by his inclusion in the New Zealand darts team to play in the Asia Pacific Cup tournament in Palmerston North from October 7 to 10 he wondered why people were looking at him when the six-strong squad was first announced.
"It took a while to sink in & quite honestly I hadn't given thought to making it," Moss said in recalling the team's naming at a function held at the completion of the national championships, also in Palmerston North, last week.
"I just sat there saying nothing, I guess I was a bit stunned."
For Moss, 39, of Masterton it was the first time he had been selected to represent his country but it wasn't something new for the Moss family with Greg's father Neville having already worn the silver fern with distinction, and actually being named as a reserve for the Asia Pacific Cup team on this occasion.
In fact, it is understood that never before have a father and son been selected in the same New Zealand
squad.
Greg Moss says he "wouldn't have been the least surprised" had dad Neville made the starting line-up ahead of him.
"He has been playing well and he's been there before & I certainly gave him a better chance than I gave myself," he said.
A series of consistent performances at the national championships obviously played a big part in the selection of Greg Moss.
He made the last eight of the mixed pairs, open singles and men's pairs and the last 16 of the singles event confined only to New Zealand players.
"I guess I played pretty well all the way through, I didn't win anything but I was usually thereabouts", was his typically under-stated assessment of his overall performance.
Helping the cause of Greg Moss, and his father for that matter, would also have been his recent success in the men's pairs at the New Zealand Chartered Club's championships, where they beat some of the country's leading players along the way.
"Yes that was a good one to get, it probably gave the selectors something to think about," he said.
Not surprisingly, Neville Moss was the catalyst to his son becoming involved in darts on a "semi-serious" basis about 10 years ago although Greg Moss admits it has only been in the last five years when he has aimed to reach the top levels of the sport.
Even then it has been natural ability more than hard training which has brought him success with little time being given to practise sessions.
However, he says he will be changing old habits in the lead-up to the Asia Pacific Cup tourney where New Zealand will be opposed by Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Pakistan, India Japan and the Philippines.
"I'm planning on doing something like an hour's training a day, that should be enough to keep me in shape," he said.