NZ team returns, Wed 13 April

After tournament the team took 2 1/2 days to visit the Chinese countryside. There was no internet so no updates for a while. we relished the fresh air, amazing countryside and glorious local food. Then we had one night in Hong Kong before going our separate ways back to our regions... and back to work. apart from Bevan and Simon who will be staying in the asain region for another 3 weeks.

Over the next few days we'll post photos from our trip and reflections and highlights of our tour.

Thanks for all the supporters, friends and family who have urged us on and kept us going through the tournament. It warmed our hearts to know that whilst we were far away people were still thinking of us.

NZ vs India. Thursday 8 April. Post-match Comment.

Starting 8:

Bevan (Captain), Tim, Michaela, Mia. Anna, Loralee, Ryan, Simon.

Subs:

Jim for Ryan. Sam for Bevan. Captaincy passed to Anna at Bevan’s substitution.

India gained advantage early in the game by a succession of quick goal. NZ’s first match point was a penalty scored by Jim Gardner, but with India already 10 goals ahead it was a hard task to catch up. Quick switches and drop shots by the Indian boys created scoring opportunities for their team which they capitalised on. Boys vying for rebound and feed under the post created a lot of contact. India gave away a few free passes and penalties due to this contact, which we successfully converted!

Kuldeep Singh's contact against Mia under the post earned him a yellow card. There was a lot of rough play and it was a very hard match to play against. In the second half NZ upped the defence. We were able to upset the Indian’s style of play, but ultimately they were able to score more frequently than ourselves.

The team came off the court battle-weary, but proud to have made it this far.

Half time: NZ 4 – 19 India

Full time: NZ 10 – 34 India

score sheet of NZ vs India

http://www.worldkorfball.org/games/892.html

NZ vs India. Thursday 8 April. Pre-match comment.

NZ and India are tops of our pools so this is going to be a hard-fought match. There is a possibility that the winner of this game may also qualify for World Championships. Historically, India usually qualifies. They have commented that if they do not win this game it will be ‘the end of korfball in India’. We are hoping to play off the pressure they have imposed on themselves to rattle them enough to upset their play, whilst at the same time keeping our composure. But we must score goals. We trust that yesterday’s game against Pakistan shall stand us in good stead, confident that we can score goals and play great korfball.

Our aim this game: have fun, play structure and score goals.

Score sheet of NZ vs Pakistan

http://www.worldkorfball.org/games/888.html

NZ vs Pakistan. Wednesday 7 April. Post-match comment.

Starting 8:
Anna (Captain), Loralee, Tim, Ryan. Jim, Mia, Alice, Sam

Subs:
Bevan for Tim, Michaela for Alice.

The game started scrappy, with NZ not quite focused against the weaker defence. Communication improved and we played much better from the second half onwards. We converted penalties and free passes, boosting confidence of the team. We achieved our set plays and worked on our timing within the plays, with most players showing improvement. The Pakistanis put in their all and scored some great goals as well. Our players coached them as we played, which we hope has helped them in their korfball knowledge.

Half time: NZ 18 - 6 PAK
Full time: NZ 43 - 8 PAK

NZ vs Pakistan. Wednesday 7 April. Pre-match comment.

The Pakistan team is made up of coaches and referees, rather than competitive players, so this is a participation match. We will win. The emphasis for us will be to practise our set moves against defenders and keep disciplined, rather than rack up a huge score. We will also use the opportunity to teach the Pakistanis during gameplay. We do not have a training tomorrow morning before our game against India so this our last chance to gel before tomorrow’s game.

Our aim this game: have fun, practise set moves and focus on scoring.

Score sheet of NZ vs Hong Kong

http://www.worldkorfball.org/games/878.html

NZ vs Hong Kong. Monday 6 April. Pre-match comments:

The team has had time to digest the workings of last night’s match. At training this morning we tried out some strategies to help us create space and to keep up a prolonged attack. We’ll put these tricks to use if we get stuck. We expect to be able to put up a good defence again, tailoring it to Hong Kong’s speed and agility.

If we win by 8 goals we are 2nd in our pool. If we win by 13 we are 1st.

We had a good training this morning. We’ve had a nice lunch- including a surprise birthday cake for Mia. The next 4 hours before we leave the hotel will be spent resting and focusing on the match ahead, visualising our win. We want this win and we’re going to get it.

Our aim this game- have fun, stay focused and use our attacking options- win by 13 goals!!!!

Intense game against Australia results in loss.

score sheets and results from the IKF website:
http://www.worldkorfball.org/games/878.html

A win against Hong Kong is now crucial to achieve a top four placing.

NZ vs Australia Sunday 4 April. Post-match comments:

Starting 8:
Anna (Captain), Michaela, Ryan, Simon. Bevan, Loralee, Mia, Tim.

Subs:
Jim for Ryan, Alice for Michaela.

As expected Australia played a very hard game. They stuck tight on defence, pressuring passes and forcing us to shoot very long. We were not able to create the space required for an effective attack and turned over the ball too frequently.

Both teams scored evenly early on. However NZ gave away a few free passes increasing Australia’s lead, without being able to convert our own chances. Our defence worked very well, defending tightly, forcing errors in the Australian attack and collecting lots of great rebounds. Our scoring percentage had increased compared to yesterday's game but we were not able to bring back the score difference. Both sides worked very, very hard and it was an intense game.

Half time score: NZ 6 - 13 AUS
Full time score: NZ 10 - 23 AUS

NZ vs Australia. Sunday 4 April. Pre-match comment

We expect a challenging game against Australia today. Firstly for the traditional trans-Tasman rivalry, and secondly, if we win this game we catapult NZ up the rankings and closer to a top 3 placing. Australia will be coming at us hard, but we are focused and ready for them.

Our aim this game- have fun and score more goals than them!

Victory in first game

New Zealand beat Korea in the first game of the tournament last evening, winning 16-7.

The record of the game is here:

http://www.worldkorfball.org/games/877.html

and reports of all the days games are here

http://www.ikf.org/aokf-championship/1497-ikf-aokc-1st-day

The result of the Australia v Hong Kong game, where Hong Kong scored an upset win, makes today's Trans-Tasman game even more important for both teams.

NZ Vs Korea. Saturday 3 April. Post-match comment

Starting 8:
Bevan (Captain), Loralee, Mia, Jim. Anna, Michaela, Ryan, Simon.

Subs made:
Sam for Jim, Tim for Ryan, Alice for Michaela.

Our intention was to put up some quick shots to get ahead on the leaderboard. This proved harder than expected as even though we took plenty of shots they didn’t go in. Defensively our team coped well to their offense. We held possession for 85% of the game, with many quick intercepts and rebounds. Korea put up a good challenge under the basket and the boys had quite a fight to hold their position, forcing us to feed.

Half time score: NZ 7- 2 Korea
Full time score: NZ 16- 7 Korea

NZ vs Korea. Saturday 3 April. Pre-match comment

As a fairly new korfball nation we expect to win against Korea today. This is an opportune game for us to make sure our structure is working and to play together without too much pressure on the outcome. The team is feeling good, with only a few manageable niggles. Loralee’s cold is abating and we have all had a goodnight’s sleep. The experience of 6000 people at the opening ceremony has us pumped up and excited for the games ahead.

Our aim this game- have fun, work as a team and win.

Following the tournament

Usually for IKF tournaments, it is possible to follow the games via a live scoring system, which, if it is operating for this tournament, can be seen here:

http://www.worldkorfball.org/competitions/53.html

Apparently 6000 spectators are expected at the tournament today. With China playing against Chinese Taipei (aka Taiwan) and India playing against Pakistan, there could be a bit of an edge in those two matches, so it could be quite spectacular.

Here's hoping the NZ team can hold their nerve and perform at their best against Korea in the last match of the evening.

Player profile - Anna Teen

Anna Teen – captain of the New Zealand team at the 2006 Asia Oceania Korfball Championships, Anna started playing as a high school student in Westland; she also participated in the 2004 Asia Oceania Korfball Championships, and played korfball in the United Kingdom for two years for Cambridge City

Player profile - Loralee Pope

Loralee Pope – a passionate korfballer for more than ten years, Loralee started playing as a high school student in Westland, though she has been based in Canterbury since 2001, where she works with young people as a psychologist, and represented New Zealand at the 2003 Asia Oceania Korfball Youth Championships and the 2004 Asia Oceania Korfball Championships

Player profile - Bevan Lawson

Bevan Lawson – a professional physiotherapist, Bevan first played korfball in 2007, two years before representing New Zealand at under 23 level; originally from Otago, he now lives in Canterbury

Player profile - Ryan Lawrence

Ryan Lawrence – Wellington-based Ryan works in information technology; a relative newcomer to korfball, his introduction to the sport was in 2008, and this tournament will be his first experience of international korfball

Player profile - Mia Lawrence

Mia Lawrence – born in Tauranga, Mia is a qualified teacher who recently completed post-graduate study into gender and physical education; she will shortly commence her first full-time teaching post in Marlborough, where she aims to introduce korfball to a new region

Player profile - Michaela Pluck

Michaela Pluck – a secondary physical education teacher currently teaching students with disabilities, Michaela grew up in Nelson and now lives in Canterbury, where she started playing korfball in 2006, subsequently representing New Zealand at the 2007 Asia Oceania Korfball Youth Championships

Player profile - Sam Grindrod

Sam Grindrod – born in Wellington, Sam is currently undertaking post-graduate study in fire engineering in the United Kingdom, where he plays korfball for Edinburgh University, one of the top performing university teams in the country

Player profile - James Gardner

James Gardner – although he is British-born, Auckland-based James qualified recently to play for New Zealand through residence; he has played korfball since around 2005 and works as in information technology professional

Player profile - Simon Cooper

Simon Cooper – the youngest member of the New Zealand squad, Canterbury born and bred Simon represented New Zealand at the 2007 Asia Oceania Korfball Youth Championships; he is studying media and film and is also active as a coach of junior korfball players

Player profile - Alice Carmody

Alice Carmody – Alice started playing korfball in 2006 in Canterbury, she now lives in Wellington where she works as a quantity surveyor and is currently chair of Wellington Korfball, the regional organisation for our sport

Player profile - Tim Asby

Tim Asby – one of the most experienced players in the New Zealand squad, Tim played in the 2004 Asia Oceania Korfball Championships and was assistant coach for the Asia Oceania Korfball Championships in 2006 and works as an architect, in Wellington

Tournament draw

There are eight teams in the 2010 AOKC. New Zealand is in Pool B along with Australia, Hong Kong and Korea.

Teams in Pool A are Chinese Taipei, India, Pakistan and China.

We play Korea on the first day, Saturday 3 April, at 19.30, in Zhuzhou, which is five hours behind New Zealand summer time. On Sunday 4 April New Zealand plays Australia in the first game of the day (13.30 Chinese Standard Time) and on Monday 5 April we play Hong Kong in the final game of the day (19.00). Tuesday 6 April is a rest day, there are semi finals on Wednesday 7 April and final play-offs on Thursday 8 April.

Photos of squad in transit to Zhuzhou