Hockey: Future greener over the fence

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Lloyd Stephenson never did make it back to the rugby field.

Now, New Zealand's national game is the furthest thing from the Ngatea 19-year-old's mind.

While sidelined by injury as a 15-year-old fourth-former at Hauraki Plains College, Stephenson picked up a hockey stick and literally jumped the fence on to the artificial turf which was laid in 1993 and has led to the sport's renaissance on the plains.

As one of five newcomers to the national side for this week's four-test series against Malaysia, he has no regrets - now that he has overcome the initial handicap that left-handers face in playing what remains a right-handed sport.

"I had my hands around the wrong way, but soon worked things out. It has advantages in that I am stronger when I have only one hand on the stick," said Stephenson, who is believed to be the Thames Valley association's first male international.

The association's only other flirtation with hockey at this level apparently came in the 1950s, when Lorraine Hayward played for New Zealand.

Not surprisingly, Stephenson's selection is seen as a big deal in Ngatea. He admits that getting the nod from national coach Kevin Towns after the trials was a surprise.

"My feet aren't really back on the ground yet," he said.

But it is an opportunity he intends making the most of.

"It is a huge honour. Going to the trials I did not hold any great hopes but saw it as the chance to get my name up there in front of the selectors."

He was also given an early indication of how tough life at the top can be when he was whacked so hard on the shinpad by veteran defender Brett Leaver that he needed stitches in a nasty cut.

While some might see Stephenson's selection as a surprise, others have always thought it inevitable.

Despite being a comparatively late starter, he certainly has the pedigree to make it at the highest level.

His mother has been around hockey for years. She was a driving force behind the town's effort to get an artificial (sand) turf laid in 1993 and is the secretary of the association.

Stephenson's brother Nick will also be in international action today, with the New Zealand under-18 team in Australia.

The brothers played together at that level last year and their younger sister, Laura, another late starter, is already in the Hauraki Plains College First Xl in only her second season.

The Stephenson influence at the local high school is obvious.

The brothers played in the 1999 side who finished sixth at the premier Rankin Cup tournament.

Last year, inspired by the younger brother, the college pulled off the biggest upset in years by winning the coveted trophy.

The step-up to the full international side is not such a huge one for Stephenson. He cut his international teeth at the under-18 level, then moved to the under-21s later last year when the New Zealand team pulled off an upset in beating Australia to a place at this year's junior World Cup in Hobart.

It promises to be a full-on year of hockey for the likeable country boy.

Now in Auckland and studying at AUT for a bachelor of sport degree, Stephenson and his brother have linked with international Hymie Gill at the Hibiscus Coast/Dairy Flat club in the North Harbour competition.

"I'm enjoying my hockey in Auckland and looking forward to playing for North Harbour in the national league if I get the chance," said Stephenson, who played much of his early hockey at inside-left but is now often handed the goal-scoring centre-forward role.

The first test against Malaysia is at Rosedale Park, North Harbour, this afternoon.

Stephenson will not be in the starting lineup, but coach Towns says he will certainly see some action during the match.