Aotearoa's Black Sticks hockey teams haven't strolled through pool play at the Commonwealth Games, however the blokes and wahine are on the cusp of qualifying for semi-finals. The women started with a hefty 16-0 win over Kenya before a 1-0 win over Scotland and a 0-1 loss to Australia this morning. The blokes started with a niggly 5-5 draw against Scotland and they responded well against Pakistan with a 4-1 win before suffering the regular treatment against Australia (2-7 loss).

Black Sticks women sit in the stronger position ahead of their last pool game against South Africa. The kiwis are tied with Scotland on points and as Scotland now face Australia to wrap up pool play, a win for Aotearoa and a Scotland loss will see Aotearoa qualify in 2nd spot. That will probably lead to a semi-final against England.

Everything that we learned from the Women's World Cup a few weeks ago has carried into their Commonwealth Games campaign. Young, vibrant strikers continue to provide attacking funk for the wahine and the speed of their attacking movements is an exciting kiwi hockey wrinkle. The win over Scotland and loss to Australia are different results, for two different types of contests but they featured splashes of grit that can also brew confidence.

For some reason Scotland have been tricky opponents for both Aotearoa teams. The first up draw for Black Sticks men leaves them sitting 3rd in their pool and this sets up a monster clash against South Africa who are tied on points with Aotearoa. South Africa shouldn't win that game against Aotearoa but if the defensive lapses from the draw against Scotland creep into this game, anything is possible.

Maybe it was first game woes for the blokes as Scotland pounced on many mishaps in Aotearoa's defence. Aotearoa hockey for both teams is built around steady defence, lots of effort and handling basic defensive duties. Hence it was so strange to see Scotland attackers unmarked in the circle or bursting forward into Aotearoa's half with no defenders around them. As tricky as that first half was for Aotearoa, the fact that they then scored a bunch of goals in the second half to put themselves in a winning position is admirable.

Once 5-5, Aotearoa let a few winning chances slip past them. While there is clarity in how the women's team plays their hockey and what they are capable of, the blokes are like an estuary full of mangroves. The draw against Scotland was niggly, tricky, diabolical and yet the kiwis flexed their mana to fight back ... also unable to seal a winner. The kiwis were decent against Pakistan and there isn't anything to take away from a loss to Australia, apart from admiring how awesome Australia is at hockey.

An intriguing aspect of Black Sticks men's hockey seems to be their depth and rotations. Aotearoa look lethal when Blair Tarrant, Kane Russell and Hugo Inglis are involved in an attacking flow, to the point where these three can be the only kiwis to touch the ball in an attacking flow. Dip deeper into the rotations though and more errors are made as basic skills are under pressure. For Australia there isn't such a dip when they get into their rotations and they are relentless in doing what they want to do, yet South Africa’s not in that realm.

Aotearoa has better depth than South Africa and they should be able to maintain their best hockey throughout the game, pouncing on South Africa's lack of depth. This team is more than capable of winning a medal and a dominant display against South Africa will be crucial in setting up their semi-final against England or India.

Aotearoa wahine are in the mix for a gold medal. Even without wins against Australia they are always in the contest and their constant attacking threat puts them in a nice spot for a semi-final that will likely be against England - who they defeated 3-1 at the World Cup. Both teams have plenty of improvement in them and also seem capable of being upset, making both games against South Africa enticing affairs.

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Peace and love.