Flying Kiwis will keep you up to date on the endeavours of New Zealand sports folk overseas. Not the battlers, mind you, but the genuine overlooked and underappreciated superstars that for some ridiculous reason don’t get a look in on local media.

Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Championship)

Wood played an hour against Saudi Arabia, and the full 90 against the UAE for New Zealand last week, so in the probable interests of resting a tired player, Chris Wood played off the bench Sunday morning for Leicester. Jaime Vardy and Dave Nugent got the start up front against FA Cup champions Wigan, the latter scoring a late penalty to put the icing on a 2-0 cake after the former had won the penalty, tripped up running on to a looping through ball. Vardy’s pace was a factor in his starting, and he seemed to impress. Wood came on for the final 10 mins, without enough time to really impress himself on the game. The win against a strong Wigan side puts Leicester City up to fourth overall, just three points off top place.

Up Next: A couple tough fixtures, first of they host Blackburn Rovers Wednesday morning (around breakfast time), and then on the weekend they travel to league leaders Blackpool (All times NZT)

Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

Another 90 minute effort from Tommy Smith, as Ipswich came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough. Smith had played 180 minutes for the All Whites midweek also, but showed no signs of fatigue in another strong defensive outing. Having been re-signed by the Tractor Boys until 2016 in the offseason, Smithy is fast becoming a key player in Mick McCarthy’s side. The win boosts Ipswich well clear of the relegation zone, and into the cluster of mid-table regularity. They started the season very poorly, but are undefeated in their last three, and moving on up like Curtis Mayfield.

Up Next: Yeovil come to Town on Wednesday morning, before a trip to Wigan in the early hours of next Monday (NZT)

Marco Rojas – VfB Stuttgart (Bundesliga)

The Thomas Schneider resurgence continues, but it does so without Marco Rojas. Stuttgart won 1-0 away at Hertha BSC, for their second straight win, which lifted them into the middle of the table. Rojas, who missed the All Whites recent games, is still out with his foot injury, but all reports are that he is very close to a return.

Up Next: A winnable game at home to Frankfurt 3.30 am Monday morning (NZT)

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

West Ham drew 0-0 with Southampton this morning, in what may have been the most boring game of the season (Man Utd vs Chelsea notwithstanding). Nonetheless, Reid played 90 minutes, and was solid enough in keeping another clean sheet. So, some solid fantasy numbers if nothing else. West Ham has kept their opposition scoreless three times out of four this league season, but hasn’t hit the back of the net themselves since the opening game against Cardiff. In four games, they’ve scored 2 and conceded 1. England forward Andy Carroll has struggled with injury and the Hammers whiffed in their attempts to bring in another striker before the transfer deadline. Reid and James Collins have established a very solid defensive pairing though.

Up Next: Everton come to town to test the Hammers defence Sunday morning (NZT)