The Star: November 17, 2016

42 Thursday November 17 2016
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The Star
Sport
Haig to lead Black Sticks
• By Gordon Findlater
NEW CAPTAIN: Canterbury Cavaliers player Nick Haig will
captain the Black Sticks against Australia tonight.
NICK HAIG will captain the
Black Sticks against Australia
tonight – a month after being
omitted from the squad for the
Rio Olympics.
It’s been a tough 12 months for
the Canterbury defender. Haig
suffered a broken leg at the beginning
of the year, leaving him
a tough task to prepare for the
Olympics. But, after returning
to fitness in time, he was understandably
disappointed when he
missed out on representing New
Zealand at what would have been
his second Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old returned to
play for Canterbury in the recent
National Hockey League and did
enough to be named in coach
Colin Batch’s 20-man team to
take on Australia in this week’s
Trans-Tasman Trophy.
“I found out last week. Batchy
(Batch) told me at the start of
training and then announced it
to the team at the end of training,
which was pretty awesome
for that to happen in front of the
guys,” said Haig.
Regular captain Simon Child
has taken a break from international
hockey, elevating Haig to
the top role after previously holding
a place in the senior leadership
team. Haig’s 193 caps for the
Black Sticks make him the most
experienced player in the current
squad.
Haig has previously captained
the Black Sticks on one occasion
in 2014 against Japan. However,
he believes tonight will be a
whole new experience, taking on
rivals Australia on home soil.
“They’re a world class side,
number one in the world. To be
able to lead the guys out against
Australia will be an awesome
experience,” said Haig.
Tonight will also be one to
remember for a number of other
Canterbury players. Striker Sam
Lane, defender David Brydon
and striker Dominic Newman
are all set to make their international
debuts.
“I’m stoked for those boys,
they’ve been playing really well
over the past two NHL seasons.
Hopefully, I can make it a comfortable
experience for them so
they’re not too nervous come
tonight,” said Haig.
Tonight’s game is the first of
the three-match trans-Tasman
series. The Black Sticks women
play Australia at 6.30pm before
the men take on Australia at
8pm.
Both games will be played at
Lloyd Elsmore Hockey Stadium
in Auckland.
Mountain-biker gets
chance to perform
CASHMERE HIGH School
downhill mountain-bike
rider Billy Meaclem has been
selected for a high performance
programme in Rotorua.
Cycling New Zealand has
announced an initial 13 riders
to be selected for the newlyformed
Mountain Bike National
Performance Hub in Rotorua.
The Hub, that was announced
last month, is one of a potential
eight hubs that underpin Cycling
New Zealand’s strategy to
foster and grow young cycling
talent, and increase the quantity
and quality of riders feeding
into the national high performance
programme.
The initial intake has been
selected following a training
camp at the campus of major
hub sponsor, Toi Ohomai
(formerly Waiariki/BOP Polytechnic)
last month.
Hub coach Sam Thompson
said this initial group will come
into Rotorua on a regular basis
for training camps and also receive
training programmes for
both on and off the bike, sports
science and nutrition.
The initial squad is:
Cross-country, under 23 – Ben
Oliver (Rangiora), Craig Oliver
(Rangiora), Gareth Cannon
DYNAMO: 17-year-old
Billy Meaclem will look
to continue his rapid
development after being
named in the Mountain Bike
National Performance Hub.
PHOTO: ZACH FAULKNER
(Woodville).
Under 19 – Eden Cruise
(Wellington), Taylor Johnston
(Rotorua), Jessica Manchester
(Auckand), Phoebe Young (Wanaka),
Jack Wilson (Tauranga).
Downhill, under 19 –
Billy Meaclem (Christchurch),
Charlie Makea (Napier), Josh
Oxenham (Auckland), Shania
Rawson (Tauranga), Sam Robbie
(Queenstown).