Captain Anita Punt
FOR THE average fan out there it can be hard to imagine Anita Punt as a recluse of sorts when she first came into the Black Sticks environment.
But coach Mark Hager attests to the shyness of the New Zealand women's captain although the hockey faithful often see the petite player as an explosive bundle of energy who can turn the plot of the game in the blink of an eye.
"She's come a long way from a young girl - I can't remember how old she was then - shy girl but it wasn't probably a bad thing but I thought she was a bit soft but now I wouldn't doubt her commitment or her ability to get into a contest or her ability to wear a hat," Hager recalls in Hastings of Punt who made her debut in 2009.
"She's come a long way and she's taken over the leadership role of Kayla [Whitelock, nee Sharland] with both arms and carried our team forward so she's a kingpin for us and that's a real plus," he says of the 27-year-old who will chalk up a milestone 200th international cap for her country tomorrow in the eight-nation Hawke's Bay Cup regardless of whether the Kiwis beat South Korea in today's semifinal.
The Black Sticks play Korea at 4.30pm and the winners of the second semifinal today at 6.45pm between Australia and China will meet in the 6.45pm final at the tier-one Unison Hockey Stadium at the HB Regional Sports Park tomorrow.
New Zealand, who are chasing their first crown after bowing out 4-2 in the semifinals to the Aussies in the inaugural tourney last year, are hoping to make their first final.
Punt's Herculean representation aside, the fleet-footed midfielder brings a gritty edge to a team that has had a tendency to buckle under playoffs pressure.
That was evident in last year's Champions Trophy semifinal exit to Australia on a penalty shootout and they exited in similar circumstances in the 2012 London Olympics as well as last year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
For someone who had only 10 caps in her maiden season, the NHL player from Wellington has come out of any perceived sense of existing in a cocoon.
"It's a huge achievement for me to play like it's been a while in the team," says Punt who will belong to an exclusive club of only five who have 200-plus games to their credit.
Teammate Gemma Flynn (201) this week became the latest to join the elite group and New Zealand women's most-capped international, defender Emily Naylor (256), of Keruru, Kayla Whitelock (229), Suzie Muirhead (238 retired) and Krystal Forgesson (220, retired) complete that exclusivity.
Flynn, who is dating All Black captain Richie McCaw, and Punt are bosom pals, having played every major tournament together since the latter made her debut.
"That's pretty cool. I think it just shows how much hard work and stuff everyone puts in and to be able to get 200 is a cool achievement," says Punt.
However, the skipper was quick to point out come tomorrow, should the Black Sticks prevail today, the final will be treated as just another match in the bigger scheme of things.
"Hopefully we'll be in the final so that'll make it pretty special," she says.
Despondency seeped into the 3rd-4th playoffs for the Kiwis in the inaugural Six Nations tourney last year, succumbing 3-2 to China.
Punt says her troops don't lack any motivation this weekend but if her 200th game adds a bit of spice to ensure the hosts can engrave their name on to the silverware then so be it.
Adding a medal at the Rio Olympics next year will be equally memorable for Punt who is equally adept as striker for her NHL team.
"We have to qualify first so we have to win this to put ourselves in the best position in the World League 3, which is our qualifying tournament, so hopefully we'll do well there."
She prefers to lock 200 into her memory for now as just a numerical figure, considering other players around the world have accomplished such similar feats but are still plying their trade into their mid-30s.
"Anytime you put on the silver fern it's a great achievement so you take pride in that."
She is taking her career tournament by tournament and year by year, depending on what the selectors' requirements are.
"You never know when your last game is going to be selection-wise and injury-wise, so for me it's just focusing on the little goals along the way," she says, emphasising next year's Olympics falls into the category of long-term goal and nothing beyond that right now but "that doesn't mean I won't be going past Rio".
She salutes Hager and former assistant coach, Greg Nicol, who has returned to the Bay as Central Districts coach, for honing her skills.
Chris Lesley and Steve Symonds take kudos for mentoring her in her younger years.
"When I came in [to the Black Sticks camp] I wasn't really sure and I could just run quite fast.
"Now I've been learning how to play the game a lot better when they come my way."
She put her transition to meaningful hockey down to a "mental thing".
"I'm just playing games and gaining more confidence so for me it was more about learning what my abilities are and working on those and sticking to what I'm good at."
Assuming the mantle of captaincy also falls in the "pretty cool" department.
"I just play it as I would if I wasn't leading by example on the field, when I can."
She reflects on her childhood days when she delved in myriad sports; hockey always came to the fore although she never dreamt she was going to one day add such an illustrious chapter in turfdom.
"You know every time I put on my silver fern it's a pretty special thing."
The only girl in the family, she has a cousin who is the only child in her family and also played hockey.
Consequently Punt's aunt bought the international her first J-shaped stick.
"I got it for my birthday and, yeah, so I never put it down. I played lots of sport but hockey managed to pull through all of them."
"Everyone that supported me along the way - from grassroots right through to today - and my parents have been huge, so I want to thank them all," she says of her mother, Adele, and father Nicolaas (Nicky), a Dutchman who reportedly holds dual citizenship.
Nelson-born Punt, who played at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics, attended Waimea College before gravitating to Wellington at the age of 18 to develop her hockey potential in the NHL.
She came into national contention in June 2009, along with 10 others after a Black Sticks renaissance following their wooden-spoon ranking at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
She acquired her maiden cap for New Zealand on June 19, 2009, against India in her hometown.
Punt is a pocket-rocket in every sense of the word, touted as one of the fastest female hockey players on the globe.
Her scorching strides over 10m were once up there with the top eight Kiwi male counterparts.
In 2013, Punt made the most of a wildcard entry into the annual international athletics meeting in Christchurch, claiming gold in the 100m sprint in 12.61s on a grass track and into a stiff 2.9m/s headwind.
She followed that up with a 100m/200m double at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton but faded to fifth in 100m at the nationals in Auckland a few weeks later.
In the code's history, there are only four Black Sticks women players who have reached 200 international caps during their career:
THE 200 CLUB
Emily Naylor (256, on break).
Suzie Muirhead (238, retired).
Kayla Whitelock (229, on break).
Krystal Forgesson (220, retired).
Gemma Flynn (201).
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