Rio Olympic qualification looms large for the men's Black Sticks.

They must win the Oceania tournament in Stratford, starting on October 21 - and that, effectively, means toppling world No 1 Australia - in order to secure a spot in the field for Rio next year.

The women's Black Sticks, world ranked No 4, are already in the Olympic field, but relish any chance to tackle the second-ranked Aussies.

Both teams have an ideal lead-up to the Oceania event next week.

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The men face India, and the women meet Argentina in four-game series in the South Island.

-All eight games on the South Island tours are available to watch exclusively live at nzherald.co.nz
-Users just need to click on the links to each game below to stream the game so bookmark this page

While Colin Batch's men are ranked seventh, India sit just one place lower and should provide precisely the tough workout New Zealand will be seeking before playing Australia.

The women will have their work cut out against the third-ranked Argentines in what should be a cracking series.

All games are being played in the South Island as Hockey New Zealand looks to spread the international flavour around the country.

Live coverage for all matches will begin 10 minutes prior to the start of games. The links below to the live streams will be come active 1 hour before the game.

New Zealand women v Argentina:
Sat, Oct 3 2015 1:50 PM NZDT:at Blenheim
Sun, Oct 4 2015 1:50 PM NZDT: at Blenheim
Tue, Oct 6 2015 4:50 PM NZDT: at Nelson
Fri, Oct 9 2015 5:50 PM NZDT: at Christchurch
New Zealand men v India:
Tue, Oct 6 2015 6:50 PM NZDT: at Nelson
Wed, Oct 7 2015 6:50 PM NZDT: at Nelson
Fri, Oct 9 2015 7:50 PM NZDT: at Christchurch
Sun, Oct 11 2015 12:50 PM NZDT: at Christchurch