Hockey: Black Sticks back in the world's top 10

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Heartened by the expected win over hosts Italy in their final match of the Champions Challenge, New Zealand women's coach Ian Rutledge is looking ahead with growing anticipation.

That win put New Zealand back in the world's top 10, and Rutledge was hoping for victory in the third/fourth playoff against Japan early today and ninth place in the world rankings.

"That would be up two places from where New Zealand finished at last year's World Cup," Rutledge said. "There would be some satisfaction in that.

"We did not have all our best players here, whereas teams such as Germany and Spain did because this was an important part of their build-up to the European Olympic qualifiers in a few weeks."

The Black Sticks beat Italy 2-0in Sicily. Niniwa Roberts-Lang took her tally for the tournament to four with a 39th-minute strike from a penalty corner. Seventeen-year-old Kayla Sharland added the second 10 minutes later, her first in international hockey.

"The Italians had nothing to lose. They gave it everything and were keen to win.

"The first half was reasonably even, but I always felt we would win," Rutledge said.

New Zealand ended pool play with two wins and three losses, the worst 2-0 against front-runners Germany.

They conceded only five goals but, disconcertingly, scored only the same number.

Rutledge pointed to the one-goal losses to Spain and Japan as games which he felt could have gone either way.

Young goalkeeper Anita Wawatai, who played against the United States and Italy, finished with two clean sheets and proved herself an able deputy for Helen Clarke, who Rutledge tagged as the team's most consistent performer.

"It has been a tough tournament," Rutledge said. "We suffered in our first two games which were played in the hottest conditions.

"There was a noticeable difference between playing at 5pm and the later games at 7pm and 9pm.

"Still, it has been a worthwhile exercise and has given us some valuable footage of teams we are likely to come up against in next year's Olympic qualifier, which remains the focus."

Before that tournament in Auckland in March, the Black Sticks will play two tests in Japan.

They will then join Japan and Korea in a tri-nations series which will be completed immediately before the national league.

The national side will get a chance to measure themselves against the very best when Argentina play a test series here in November.