Hockey: Substitutions vital as heat goes on at World Cup

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Coach Kevin Towns will waste little time in making substitutions when the New Zealand men's team hit the turf for their first World Cup match against the Netherlands in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow night.

"The heat is obviously a factor," Towns said before the team headed out for the first of two training sessions yesterday.

"In every game we will name our five forwards and start using substitutes within 12 or 15 minutes.

"It will not be quite as important in defence, so the one player we leave out for each game is likely to be a defender who will then be responsible for doing the video."

Towns said that because of the heat - the games scheduled to start at 8 am on the outer turf are likely to be in the blazing sun by halftime - the starting line-up would be immaterial.

The rolling substitutions would play vital roles.

"Getting the substitutions right will be a key factor."

New Zealand are ranked bottom of the expanded 16-team competition, gaining their entry for the four-yearly competition with a last-gasp seventh placing at the qualifying tournament in Edinburgh last year.

They have had four warm-up games in Kuala Lumpur, beating the Malaysian juniors 8-0, drawing 2-2 with Malaysia and Korea, and losing to India 2-0.

They have yet to show their hand with planned penalty corner variations, but were due to work on those at a private training session yesterday.

The Netherlands are the cup holders.

Twenty-four hours after that game New Zealand play Spain, the runners-up at the Edinburgh qualifying tournament where the New Zealanders finished seventh.

They then play Pakistan, fourth at the Sydney Olympics, on Wednesday and African champions South Africa a day later.

After a day off on Friday, New Zealand meet European champions Germany on Saturday and Argentina, who won the Edinburgh qualifier, on Sunday.

New Zealand's last pool match is against Belgium, who came fourth in Edinburgh, on March 5.

Targeting a top-eight finish, Towns sees South Africa (whom New Zealand have not played since they drew 3-3 at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games), Belgium (1-1 in Edinburgh), and Spain as teams to beat.

Of the New Zealand side who finished 10th at the last World Cup - in 1998 in Utrecht - Darren Smith, Dion Gosling, Simon Towns, Umesh Parag, Ken Robinson, Hymie Gill and Bevan Hari are back.

Gosling will play his 100th international tomorrow.

Pool A: Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain.

Pool B: Australia, Cuba, England, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Poland.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals.

The New Zealand team (with the number of internationals played) .

Simon Towns (149), Mitesh Patel (49), David Kosoof (28), Darren Smith (115), Dion Gosling (99), Blair Hopping (27), Dean Couzins (21), Ryan Archibald (81), Umesh Parag (153), Alpesh Puna (8), Bevan Hari (87), Michael Bevin (19), Paul Woolford (23), Ken Robinson (50), Phillip Burrows (48), Hayden Shaw (6), Hymie Gill (70), Peter Stafford (6).