Black Sticks Wahine Crack World Cup Quarter-Finals
Aotearoa's Black Sticks wahine have finished 1st in Pool B at the Hockey World Cup, setting up a quarter-final against either Germany or South Africa on Wednesday morning. The kiwis grabbed a 2-2 draw with China before a 3-1 win over England and then a 4-3 win over India to finish as the only team in Pool B with two wins. Some context is required here as Aotearoa is a few notches below the other teams who automatically slid into quarter-finals...
Netherlands (Pool A): 3-0, 11 goals scored, 3 goals against.
Aotearoa (Pool B): 2-0-1, 9 goals scored, 6 goals against.
Argentina (Pool C): 3-0, 15 goals scored, 2 goals against.
Australia (Pool D): 3-0, 6 goals scored, 1 goal against.
Aotearoa is the only pool-winner to draw a game and concede more than 3 goals. Black Sticks have however been impressive in their three pool games and the win over England was their first win since the end of the Tokyo Olympics. Aotearoa suffered three consecutive losses to round out their Olympic campaign, including a loss to China. Since the start of 2021 up until this World Cup, Aotearoa played 16 games and scored 3+ goals just once.
That one game was a 3-0 win over Argentina at the Olympics and Argentina are a genuine contender at this World Cup. Plenty has changed since the Olympics to set up this World Cup campaign as the Olympic squad was far better on paper than this Black Sticks World Cup group. Plus there has been another shift in coaching.
Graham Shaw was shuffled into the coaching job after Mark Hager (now running Australia's wahine pathways) was flicked aside, then Shaw departed earlier this year. Darren Smith is currently in charge and his time as Black Sticks blokes coach was mediocre, delivering a weird coaching situation and a weakened squad for this World Cup.
Smith is joined by Shea McAleese and Bryce Collins in the Black Sticks coaching ranks. Equality in pay is nice but most of the issues in wahine sport stem from blokes running things, so more wahine coaches would be ideal. That said, Smith has overseen a refreshed Black Sticks group that skews younger and is more fun to watch that previous squads - notably the Olympic team with many top-tier kiwi players.
Olivia Merry and skipper Megan Hull are the key figures in this young squad. Hull anchors the defence and leads distribution from the back, while Merry is a reliable striking presence. Merry has always been a quality goal-scorer for Aotearoa but she is unlikely to burst past defenders or carve space, now complimented by vibrant youngsters who are fizzing to run at defenders with speed and creativity.
This allows Merry to do what she is best at. Players like Olivia Shannon, Hope Ralph, Tynan Rose, Tyler Lench and Katie Doar have stood out with their willingness to attack defenders and space. Merry links this together and owns spaces in front of goal...
Merry is also a key factor in Penalty Corners with 2 of her 3 goals coming at PC time. Aotearoa can use Merry's upright hit and Merry can also roll through variations, while Hull and Stephanie Dickins have also been deployed to execute a PC option. With less attacking flair in previous Black Sticks teams, PC's were a crucial route to scoring goals and now Aotearoa can create chances from anywhere.
Aotearoa has shown better passing combinations, along with being as direct as possible in their counter attacks. Chances are also being created through strong defence deep in the attacking zone as opposition players try to dribble out of defence. Perhaps this is a Black Sticks ploy or maybe this just comes from energetic kiwis ripping into every contest. This has been a feature of their goals scored so far and provides more variety to their play.
How this looks against Netherlands, Argentina or Australia is tricky to break down. Aotearoa has looked good against solid international teams but not the elite teams and finishing 1st in their pool, now gives Aotearoa the luxury of not facing an elite team until the semi-finals. Germany should be favourites over South Africa as they grabbed two wins, only losing to Netherlands and South Africa didn't win a game in their pool.
A quarter-final against Germany would be a lovely challenge for Aotearoa. South Africa would in theory be the easier contest, but playing Germany would be better preparation for semi-finals and beyond. Nothing from the past year or so suggested this would happen, but the Black Sticks wahine are a fun, competitive team at this World Cup and anything can go down in knockout hockey at a major tournament.
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Peace and love.