Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and the NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview the weekend's sport. Video / NZ Herald
Holly Pearson’s recovery from a serious injury came with an added level of emotion.
The 25-year-old was forced out of action in May 2022 when, playing for the Black Sticks Women against Australia, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
It set her on a long road to recovery, during which she could only watch as the Black Sticks Women failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in 28 years.
”It is tricky because you are at home wanting them to do so well, but you can’t do anything about it,” Pearson told the Herald.
The New Zealand women's hockey team have missed Olympic qualification for the first time in 28 years. Photo / Supplied
”Thinking about the position the girls are in, it would have been incredibly difficult and I really feel for them - they are just at the forefront of it all. It definitely was hard watching.”
Missing out on the attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games was just one of several big moments Pearson could only watch. The timing of the injury meant she was unavailable for the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Despite the injury, Pearson, who debuted for the Black Sticks in 2019 and accumulated 31 international caps before her injury, earned a contract offer in November 2023. She candidly admitted that before badly damaging her knee, her mindset may not have been particularly robust, however, tackling the injury with a unique approach helped her change that.
Holly Pearson in action for New Zealand's Black Sticks against Australia's Hockeyroos in Aucklandin May 2022. Photo / Simon Watts / Hockey New Zealand
“I had a really sarcastic mindset when it happened.
”I had a saying if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry ... so it was either I was going to spend the next year crying myself to sleep or look at the positives and try to find better perspectives on that.
”[I had to] stop feeling sorry for myself ... and it ended up making me a more positive person.
”I just approached everything with a sarcastic mindset and [now] that’s how I live my daily life.”
Pearson will make her return for the national team when they meet Japan on Saturday in Auckland and the occasion comes with a mixture of emotions as she relishes her new perspective on life.
”It is exciting and I am very privileged to be here ... but I’m not where I ultimately want to be in terms of my hockey abilities, technical knowledge and understanding of my physical ability,” she admitted.
”I definitely need to get back to where I was two years ago.”
Heading into this weekend’s two-match series against Japan, who currently hold a world ranking of 10, Pearson affirmed the collective hunger within the New Zealand team (ranked 11), who are determined to bounce back from their disappointing performance at the last international meet, the Olympic Qualifiers.
”We want to win the series. We have had two practice matches and we had a 2-1 loss and a 4-0 win.
”[But] on the weekend it will be a totally different story, in terms of the pressure of a test match, you have got the crowd, and it will be a totally different game.
”It will be tough, but we want to win the series. We want to win two games out of two.”
Black Sticks Women vs Japan. 4pm, National Hockey Centre, North Harbour
Sunday 14 April
Black Sticks Women vs Japan. 4pm, National Hockey Centre, North Harbour
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a keen footballer, passionate about women’s sport and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
