Hawke’s Bay hockey hero Sam Hiha scores a double in World Cup win

Hawke's Bay Black Sticks players are competing at the World Cup tournament in India. Photo / WorldSportPics

Former Napier Boys’ High School pupil Sam Hiha has played a starring role with the New Zealand Black Sticks at the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup tournament opener in India, with two early goals in a 3-1 win over Chile.

With New Zealand already a goal up after Sam Lane scored in the 10th minute of the Pool C match at Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha, the 25-year-old Auckland-based Hawke’s Bay striker scored in the 12th and 19th minutes to take the Kiwis to a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The first of the Hiha double came when Blair Tarrant made a scything run from the wing into the circle and passed across the face of the goal to find the stick of Hiha ready to take the goal. Hiha then found himself on the scoresheet again seven minutes later, picking up the ball from a Chilean defender on the edge of the circle and blasting it home with a spectacular reverse shot into the box.

Chile, playing a World Cup tournament for the first time, came out with all their aggression going into the second half, but were held out by the Kiwis until Ignacio Contrado scored the last goal of the match, five minutes into the final quarter.

Former Napier Boys’ High School pupil Sam Hiha has played a starring role with the New Zealand Black Sticks at the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup tournament opener in India.

The two other Hawke’s Bay players in the squad, Dom Dixon and Sean Findlay, also played in the win, with Findlay at one stage copping a short suspension.

Hiha told Hawke’s Bay Today: “It’s great to get a couple of goals on the board and a win. We could’ve gone better in the second half, but we’ll take the three points first-up.”

With New Zealand ranked No. 9 worldwide, and Chile No. 22, it’ll be a big step up for the Black Sticks in their second match on Monday, against No. 3-ranked The Netherlands, who opened their Cup campaign with a 4-0 win over Malaysia.

The eldest son of former Te Aute College principal Shane Hiha - and grandson of late New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay Māori and women’s hockey legend Marg Hiha and former Māori All Black rugby lock Heitia Hiha - Sam Hiha had scored just two goals in his previous 18 matches for New Zealand since his Black Sticks debut in 2021.

From the disappointment of missing selection for the 2020 Olympic Games, delayed by the global pandemic and held in Tokyo in 2021, he bounced back to become a regular front-liner, including at the Commonwealth Games five months ago in Birmingham, England.

A water engineer with leading engineering, architecture, property and materials consultancy experience at WSP, he was first named in a national team at Under 18 level in 2014, and played for New Zealand in the 2016 FIH Junior World Cup, also in India.

He was the leading scorer as southern North Island regional franchise Central Mavericks finished second in the 2017 national Under 21 tournament, and, after also representing the franchise in the National Hockey League, scored four goals for new entity Central Falcons in winning the inaugural Premier Hockey League in 2020.

The Black Sticks’ best result against The Netherlands in recent years was almost four years ago - The Netherlands broke a scoreless deadlock with a 3-2 penalty shootout win when the sides last met in April 2019 in Eindhoven, in The Netherlands.

Since that match the Blacks Sticks have played 53 games for 14 wins, five draws, and 34 losses, including 13 games against World No. 1 and tournament favourite Australia since the transtasman nations drew 2-2 in Rockhampton in September 2021.

A special feature for Findlay on Monday will be possibly playing against two Oranje-Rood Dutch premier league teammates, in goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak and midfielder Tijmen Reijenga.