Wairarapa 'teamwork' pays

Teamwork was the main reason for success for the Wairarapa under-18 women's hockey team at their national tournament in Wellington last week.
They gave Wairarapa their best result at this tourney for several years in placing third but it could easily have been better with their only loss coming in a penalty shootout with North Harbour in the semifinals.
It came after the two teams had been level at 1-1 at the end of ordinary time.
The disappointment of being eliminated in that manner was made worse when North Harbour went on to beat Auckland 2-0 in the grand final. Wairarapa had earlier beaten Auckland 5-2 in pool play.
"You couldn't help but feel gutted that we didn't make the final because we certainly played well enough to be there," Wairarapa coach Sharon Gates said. "And had we made it, who knows what might have happened."
Gates said the importance of playing as a team rather than as a group of individuals had been stressed during an undefeated pre-tournament campaign and each of the squad members had responded brilliantly to that message.
"The unity was outstanding both on and off the field," she said.
A 5-2 win over Auckland in the opening series of pool matches gave Wairarapa a flying start and wins over Hawke's Bay (4-0) and Counties-Manukau (3-0) saw them as top qualifiers for the quarter-finals where they beat Northland (4-1).
Then came that frustrating semifinal, followed by a 5-1 thumping of Tauranga in the playoff for third and fourth - a result which spoke volumes for both the character and resolve within the Wairarapa squad.
"We were determined to finish on a high," Gates said.
A national under-18 squad of 30 players is expected to be named this week and Gates believes at least up to seven of her squad could be in the reckoning.