New Zealand men's coach Jeff Jiang gives his side a decent chance of knocking over powerhouse Chinese club team Sichuan tonight, despite three of his players only joining the team in Tauranga today.
Jiang's build-up for the four tests against Sichuan has been hampered by having his players spread throughout the
country, with Charlie Stewart, Ben Glubb and John Gibb linking with the national men's team today.
Sichuan are one of China's most prestigious club teams, competing in the China National League and featuring two players from the 2008 Beijing Olympic squad.
Jiang doesn't believe a lack of combinations will hinder New Zealand from drawing first blood tonight at Tauranga's QEYC Stadium. "There's been no real time together but most of the team are from Auckland and we've been able to practise together okay."
Sichuan arrived at the weekend, losing their first warm-up game to club side Sparta 3-2 before beating the Manukau rep team 3-1 on Monday. Jiang watched both games.
"Sichuan only arrived after 18 hours of flying to play Sparta straight off the plane and looked very jetlagged, but they looked better in Counties. We have a good chance to beat them because our team has looked stronger in the last couple of years," said Jiang, who is in his second tenure with the national men's team.
Last night Rotorua's top secondary schools' talent picked up expert playing tips during a coaching clinic with Sihuan men's team. A spiking and blocking clinic is being held in Tauranga today.
Tonight's curtainraiser will see the New Zealand under-19 women's team on national club champions Tauranga.
The Stewart Henderson-coach junior women, with eight of the 12 players from Bay of Plenty, leave tomorrow for the United States high performance championships in Arizona.
Match details
Curtainraiser: 5pm.
Main game: 7pm.
Where: QEYC Stadium, Tauranga.
Tickets: VIP $25, on stage with refreshments and nibbles.
Entry: adult $10, student $5 and children free.
New Zealand men:
Brad Takai (capt), Tame Malcolm, Charlie Stewart, Tane Rua, Patrick McConnell, Cameron Shaw, Sam Frankham, Ben Glub, John Gibbs, Nathan Healey, Sam Tui vai, John Fowler, Johann Timmer, Ethan Barrowclough, Liam Munday, Rhys Van Stipriaan.
