Hockey: Black Sticks forced to make some tough calls

Shortcomings in the national men's hockey team were painfully exposed at times during this World Cup.

Like those charged with gearing this teeming metropolis to the required standard to host a Commonwealth Games, Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod faces a very similar challenge.

After falling well short of the top four or top six target they had set themselves here, the squad as a whole must quickly regroup or find themselves in a similar battle to meet their "a medal at least" aim for October's Commonwealth Games.

Of the Commonwealth countries, Australia, England and hosts India all finished ahead of New Zealand. If Games' medals had been at stake they would have missed out.

And, as South Africa showed in taking the Black Sticks all the way to a nail-biting penalty stroke decider, they will be no easy-beats.

Behind in a flash and forced to play catch-up, New Zealand eventually took the lead, blew it and needed a desperate last-second penalty corner conversion to take the 9th-10th play-off to extra time and a shootout which, again, they had to come from behind to win.

The Commonwealth Games will be more of the same with Australia a short-priced favourite and England just as likely to claim silver.

Then there is a wounded Pakistan who will journey across the border with a new-look team and management as they set out on the biggest salvage job in world hockey.

The scrap for Commonwealth Games bronze promises plenty. If New Zealand are to be in that contest, McLeod now knows what lies ahead.

At anything but full strength this team struggles. Without four key players - Simon Child, Phil Burrows (for all but the first two games), Hayden and Brad Shaw - the Black Sticks were without a quarter of their expected starting line-up. As the rest showed there is a huge gap between the best and the rest.

McLeod said he was prepared to make the hard calls. He will need to.

With July's four-nations tournament in Nottingham - at the same time as the women's Champions Trophy - and the men's Champions Trophy in Germany soon after (July 31-August 8), McLeod must prepare accordingly.

"South Africa had a real desire to scrap all the way with their hustle and bustle style," said McLeod.

"They showed us up. We have set high standards. But we fell short of them out there.

"Some players did not perform. We need to freshen up our squad [bring in new players]. It would be a crime if we didn't do that. The process, in that regard, has already started. I have to be prepared to make the hard calls - and I will."

In looking back, McLeod will feel his senior players, Ryan Archibald, Blair Hopping, Dean Couzins, Shea McAleese, Burrows and goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex met expectations.

Young striker Nick Wilson too showed out as he took responsibility to lead the forward line in Burrows and Childs' absence. He might be struggling to add many more names to this list.

"We will name a new squad in the next couple of weeks," said McLeod.

* Australia made up for the disappointment of losing the last two finals to Germany when they claimed a deserved gold medal with a 2-1 win.

The Netherlands scored first and last and bounced back from 1-3 at one stage to beat England 4-3 for bronze. And the Black Sticks did not leave empty-handed after winning the Fair Play Award.