Adrian Lobb and Grant Boyde were selected after playing in the national masters tournament in Auckland in March. Another Stratford club member, Alan Bunning from Hawera, was also selected for the NZ40+ team after a recent training camp.
This is not the first time they have been selected to playfor New Zealand, with all three travelling to London last year for the World Masters Hockey tournament.
The masters team recently held a training camps in Hamilton. This was the first opportunity for the team, which is being coached by Russ Brennan, to see who they would be playing with, and what the team would look like.
Adrian says that it's quite a tough job Russ has. You've got guys who have been playing for ages, and you're trying to keep their game fresh. You can teach an old dog new tricks, adds Grant.
They will play in the Trans-Tasman Challenge series, against Australia. The tournament will be played at North Harbour Stadium May 6-11, with each team playing three tests. There are five age groups, ranging from 40+ to 60+. Grant and Adrian are playing in the 45+ age group and Alan in the 40+ group.
Grant and Adrian both say it's great to have an international tournament played in New Zealand.
Grant has played international hockey for five years, but this will be his first time playing for his country on home soil. It also means the family has a chance to come and watch, which they missed out on in London.
Adrian and Grant have been playing against each other from primary school, and with each other since high school. I've been coming to club practices for over 32 years now, says Grant. That adds up to hundreds of practices and games, not including reps.
After this tournament, both players will be looking to give back to hockey, by helping with club and rep coaching, and working on the committee and of course playing. Adrian also plans to participate in the PowerCo Tour of Taranaki, a three day cycle race in Taranaki two weeks after the tournament, "if my body holds up".
