Hawke’s Bay teams win opening Under 18 tournament games

Hawke’s Bay has made successful starts to both national Under 18 hockey tournaments, including the men’s championship at Park Island, Napier.

The Hawke’s Bay team lines up for their first match in the 2024 New Zealand Under 18 men’s hockey tournament in Napier on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

The junior men beat South Canterbury 3-2 in a late-afternoon game in Napier, while the women beat North Harbour B 4-0 in Christchurch, following similar starts in last year’s tournaments.

More than 400 players and officials with 22 representative teams from Northland to Southland are in Napier for the tournament, in which North Harbour are chasing a fourth consecutive title, and following the recent men’s Black Sticks camp pre-Olympic Games camp in Hastings.

The tournaments are seen as a major stepping stone for players heading for international careers, with plenty of success for Hawke’s Bay including two players at the Olympics in Paris and two others waiting in the wings as non-travelling reserves.

North Harbour A started with a 4-0 win over North Harbour B, and major association team Canterbury A beat Southland, also 4-0. Auckland Blue drew 1-1 with Bay of Plenty, while Auckland White had a first-day bye.

Other opening day results were: Otago 5 Central Otago 0, Tasman 2 Canterbury B 1, Tauranga 6 Wairarapa 0, Manawatū 4 Counties Manukau 0, Northland 3 Taranaki 3, Waikato 4 Wellington 2.

Hawke’s Bay has a Monday bye, and the tournament continues throughout the week, with finals on Saturday.

Hawke’s Bay also got off to a good start at the Under 18 women’s tournament in Christchurch, beating North Harbour B 4-0, and drawn for a Monday match against Tasman, who opened with a 2-2 draw against Tauranga.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.