After shaking off a dose of jet-lag, New Zealand surf lifesaving captain, Glenn Anderson, is aiming to break the Australian dominance on the beach.
Anderson arrived in Sydney after a 24-hour trip from Germany, where he led the national pool team to unprecedented success at the German Cup.
He was straight back into training ahead of the International Surf Challenge, which starts at Bondi Beach today, mindful of the strength of the hosts who are led by double world ironman champions Zane Holmes and Kristy Munroe.
"We've got nothing to fear from these guys," Anderson said. "They're pretty strong and they have an awesome profile over here but we showed in Germany we can knock them over on a regular basis if we just believe we can."
New Zealand have a team full of international rookies, with 10 athletes, including teenagers Chelsea Maples (Mount Maunganui) and Natasha Hind (Lyall Bay), making their debut.
New Zealand were forced to make two late changes, with Nathan Henderson (virus) and Lucy Pengelly (back injury) replaced by Mairangi Bay's Travis Mitchell and Hind respectively.
