Hockey: Black Sticks hoping trophy catches Sparc's eyes

Anita Punt. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Winners on the field, the New Zealand women's hockey team now face an expectant wait to see if they will be as successful off it when the results of Sparc's next funding round are revealed.

Yesterday's 2-1 break-back win by Mark Hager's Black Sticks over hosts South Africa in the Champions Challenge final in Cape Town has again opened the international door by guaranteeing the young side a place in next year's Champions Trophy tournament in Nottingham.

Third-ranked of the six teams at the South African-hosted tournament, the Black Sticks are set to leap two places to ninth when the international federation releases its next ranking list.

While that will sit favourably with Sparc when they sit down in the next few weeks to consider applications from the wide range of contestable sports, Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin said the players might still miss out on much sought after Performance Enhancement Grants which would guarantee the players some much-needed individual funding.

"PEGS usually come down to world rankings and we have set that at eight or above," said Miskimmin. "But everything will be considered before a decision is made.

"Sparc are delighted with this win. It is the first time in a while the New Zealand women have won a trophy. They have answered all the questions we asked them from getting a world class coach to producing acceptable results."

Hager refuses to be overwhelmed by his team's success, which follows their recent Oceania triumph when they beat world No 7 Australia in Invercargill to win through to the World Cup.

"We have a long way to go," said Hager in reflecting on the win in Cape Town. "We have made small steps this year but we are under no illusions that we still have a long way to go to compete with the top six.

"The win was a pleasing result because it was the first tournament with this group and we were unsure how we would compete."

Hager had his anxious moments in the final against a team ranked one place lower but who had not beaten New Zealand in either warm-up or their pool clash at the tournament.

First half goals to Anita Punt and Clarissa Eshuis had the Black Sticks comfortably ahead at the break. The South Africans charged back strongly in the second half and closed the gap with six minutes to play when Kate Woods scored the 50th (and last) goal of the tournament and sparked an even more determined effort from the hosts.

The plucky New Zealanders - without injured key midfielder Kayla Sharland - called on all their reserves to stand firm and claim the coveted trophy. Gemma Flynn was named player of the tournament while Eshuis shared the award for the top goalscorer with local star Farah Fredericks.

The Black Sticks face a hectic schedule next year with the Champions Trophy from July 10-18, the World Cup in Argentina from August 30-September 12, and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi from October 3-14. Pencilled in is a European tour in June as a lead-up to the Champions Trophy where they will play world No 1 Netherlands, Argentina (2), China (3), Germany (4), and England (8).