Hayden Shaw gives test career flick in style

Hayden Shaw couldn't have scripted his exit from the Black Sticks and international men's hockey any better yesterday in Tauranga.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, the series against Korea was in the balance with the Black Sticks trailing 3-2 and the 500-strong crowd on the edge of their seats baying for an equaliser.
Shaw, New Zealand's greatest-ever drag flicker, stepped up to nail a late goal from a penalty corner - his 130th in his 177th and final test (with only one of the goals, against Papua New Guinea, coming from the field) - to clinch the series before announcing his retirement to his stunned teammates after the final whistle.
Shaw, New Zealand's prince of penalty corners for almost a decade, said the timing was right to bow out, with the commitment required to get to next year's London Olympics too much.
The right-sided defender, who debuted in 2002, went out a winner, his strike giving New Zealand a 3-3 draw and a 2-1 series defeat of the world No6-ranked Koreans.
Black Sticks captain Shea McAleese, one of two players who knew about Shaw's retirement plans for several days, said only coach Shane McLeod could have spoiled the perfect ending to Shaw's career by giving the penalty corner to Andy Hayward, the side's other designated drag flicker.
"If Shooter [McLeod] had given it to someone else I was going to change the call and let Hayden take it, but I looked over and he gave me the signal for Hayden, so all was well."
McLeod was only told the news after breakfast at the team's Tauranga hotel yesterday morning.
"It clearly wasn't an easy decision for him and one he's been mulling over for a while. It wasn't necessarily the playing but the training and everything else that goes along with being a high-performance athlete that was getting harder, especially now he's got a wife [Joanna] and child [7-month-old son Ollie]."
McLeod has already tapped Shaw about helping coach the next generation of drag flickers and has no doubt he'll go down as one of New Zealand's greats, if just for the sheer volume of goals he scored from set piece.
"When people talk about Hayden what precedes that is 'drag flick' - he's world famous for it. They're not easy skills to replace but we've worked hard to get players up to speed."
Shaw was one of a handful of Black Sticks based outside of Auckland (his home is in Christchurch) and the 30-year-old said the pressure to move in the build-up to London played a part in his decision.
"That was part of it, but essentially it's something I've been thinking about since Delhi [where he scored twice in the bronze medal playoff win over England]. I love hockey, it's just the time I've got to put into training and that's one of the reasons I left cricket.
"My priorities have changed with a son at home. I work all day (as a primary teacher), go to training and don't get home until after [7pm] and then get up and do the same the next day. We're not professional hockey players - if that were the case it might be a bit different.
"If the want's not there I'd rather be at home with Joanna and Ollie than being at the gym and at the turf."
It was an emotional day for Shaw yesterday as he gave McLeod the head's up in the morning and then tried to prepare for the game as best he could, knowing it was his final test. He shed a few tears during the national anthem and, when it came time to let the rest of the team know the gig was up in the huddle after the game, he could barely get the words out.
"I blurted something out. I think there was a bit of shock in the huddle ... I'm looking forward to having a few beers with the boys tonight knowing that's it."
Shaw's size - 1.96m and 101kg - is an anathema to the little bullets that dominate the international game now. "It's changed a lot, so much quicker than it was, so I've had to adapt and get much smarter about the lines I run so I'm not chasing the little fellas all over the turf."
After 10 years at the top, Shaw rates the 2004 Athens Olympics as his career highlight. Shaw stepped forward to convert a last-ditch penalty corner for a 2-1 win over India, which guaranteed them the 5th-6th play-off spot.
That subsequently led to New Zealand rising to 6th in the world rankings - a 10-spot improvement in just two years.
"That was probably the most crucial goal I scored for the Black Sticks."