Hockey: Black Sticks brim with World Cup confidence

Lloyd Stephenson, hopes he has added elements to his game to earn him a permanent slot in the team. Phil Walter / Getty Images

Lloyd Stephenson hopes his days of being a touch-and-go Black Sticks selection are coming to an end.

The bustling North Harbour striker missed the Athens Olympics and this year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, despite having been involved in the leadups.

Stephenson was yesterday one of five strikers named in the New Zealand squad for September's World Cup in Germany.

Since Melbourne, he has figured in the World Cup qualifying event in China, scoring five goals in seven games, and the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia. New Zealand won in China and finished fourth in Malaysia.

Missing the Commonwealth Games squad was tough.

"I've taken selection failures pretty hard at times, and the Games was a perfect example," Stephenson said yesterday.

"But there's always something on the horizon, and China was the perfect example of that."

He knows all about sitting on edge and hopes he has added elements to his game that will ease those nail-biting moments.

The 25-year-old from Ngatea, who moved to North Shore in 2001, derived special satisfaction from being part of the tournament-winning squad in Changzhou in April. He was one of two players added after Melbourne for the cup qualifier.

"I was lucky enough to play every game in China and performed pretty well. It was something I had in my mind, if I had the opportunity, to certainly try and make the most of it.

"What made things a lot easier was the team performed outstandingly in China."

The Black Sticks have top-four aspirations in the 12-team tournament in Germany.

The world No 9-ranked team are grouped with Australia (No 1), Spain (4), Pakistan (5), Argentina (8) and Japan (14). The other pool comprises the Netherlands (2), Germany (3), India (6), Korea (7), South Africa (10) and England (11).

Coach Kevin Towns and New Zealand Hockey chief executive Ramesh Patel reckon this is the best team the country has sent to a World Cup. A strong showing will ease the path to qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

The two selection hotspots for Towns were settling on the third fullback, which went to Midlands' Richard Petherick - who adds an extra dimension to the penalty corner department with an improving drag flick - and getting the mix right in the halfback line, where Shea McAleese, subject to proving his fitness, is in, but bracketed with Canterbury's Hugh Copland and Shaun Barnett of North Harbour.

What gives Towns special delight is the form of his captain, 160-cap star Ryan Archibald, who was in scintillating touch in China.

"He's playing as good as I've seen him. He's enthusiastic, fresh and leading from the front," Towns said.

As for the self-effacing Archibald, he's relishing being part of what he believes to be the best Black Sticks team he has been in.

"It's developed very quickly. Certainly we're very enthusiastic about how we're going to go and if we can improve on how we played in China then we can be a real force at the World Cup," he said.

The bulk of the squad has been together in Auckland since February, apart from British-based Mitesh Patel and Bevan Hari.

They leave New Zealand on August 14 for two tests against Belgium in Antwerp, two more against China in Duesseldorf and a week's preparation in Moenchengladbach before the cup starts on September 6, with games lined up against India, South Africa and the Netherlands.

THE SQUAD

Black Sticks team for men's World Cup, Moenchengladbach, September:

Goalkeepers: Kyle Pontifex (Wellington, 32 caps), Paul Woolford (Auckland, 98)

Defenders: Hayden Shaw (Canterbury, 87), Dean Couzins (Auckland, 102), Bradley Shaw (Canterbury, 24), Shea McAleese (Canterbury, 33), Richard Petherick (Midlands, 17), James Nation (Wellington, 46).

Midfielders: Ryan Archibald (c, Auckland, 160), Mitesh Patel (Hampstead, UK, 126), Blair Hopping (North Harbour, 128), Bryce Collins (North Harbour, 33), Ben Collier (North Harbour, 26).

Strikers: Simon Child (Auckland, 24), Bevan Hari (Cardiff, 170), Phil Burrows (Wellington, 141), Lloyd Stephenson (North Harbour, 46), Gareth Brooks (Auckland, 65).