Silver lining at hockey champs

The national under-21 hockey championships in Hamilton last weekend were a huge fillip for the sport in the Wairarapa region.

Five ex-Wairarapa College players - Thomas Annear, Nick Finlayson, Trent Lett, Ben van Woerkom and Ben Poole - all came away with silver medals after being part of the Capital men's team which finished runners-up to North Harbour.

And six past or present Wairarapa players - Lett, Finlayson, van Woerkom, Jenna Anderson, Megan Hull and Felicity Reidy - were all selected in the national training squads which will prepare for the Junior World Cup in 2013.

Hull still attends Wairarapa College while Reidy (ex-Wairarapa College) and Anderson (ex-St Matthew's Collegiate) are now studying in Wellington. Their Capital squad finished fourth in the women's section of the Hamilton tourney.

Meanwhile, Dalefield will resume their participation in the Wellington premier division men's hockey competition with a match against Victoria University at Clareville tomorrow starting at 1.30pm.

Dalefield have yet to notch a win this season but they have made steady improvement under the coaching of former Black Stick Greg Clark and seem sure to give University a better run for their money than they did in their first round clash which University won 8-0.

Clark will want a fully committed effort from a Dalefield side which has often been competitive throughout the first half of their matches but wilted over the latter stages.