Great Britain men’s and women’s teams have departed for the other side of the world as they ‘follow the sun’ and prepare for their FIH Pro League encounters with New Zealand. For the Great Britain women’s team (FIH Hero World Ranking: 2), this is their opening FIH Pro League match. For Great Britain men (WR:7), they travel to Christchurch on the back of an incredible 6-5 victory over Spain (WR:9).
We caught up with women’s captain Hollie Pearne-Webb and men’s Head Coach, Danny Kerry.
The first thing the squads needed to cope with was the long travel, having endured a flight time of 31 hours to get to New Zealand. Both teams arrived in Christchurch with a week to overcome jet-lag but attention to detail is a shared mantra of the men’s and women’s squads. “We have put a lot of sport performance planning into our long distance travel,” says Pearne-Webb. “The result is that the team has adapted well and we are all really looking forward to our first game.”
It must have been difficult watching the other nations starting their campaigns? Pearne-Webb thinks this has added to the sense of expectation. “The group are really excited to get the Pro-League underway. It has actually been great watching the other matches. They have all shared their moments of drama and has proved anyone can beat anyone on the day. All teams seem to be going for it which is great and we will need to match that.”
The format of the FIH Pro League is a new experience for the Olympic gold medallist. “We are going from something like six matches in nine days to an one-off winner-takes-all match. Preparation for that has been different and no doubt when we get to match day it will feel different as well. “
Now ranked sixth in the world and hurting after home defeats at the hands of the Netherlands (WR:1) Belgium (WR: 13), New Zealand will be out to get their first Pro League points on the board.
Pearce-Webb says her team are alert to the danger. “New Zealand are quick and like to counter fast whenever possible. They have already played two Pro League games and so are now well up to speed with international games again. We will need to match this in our very first pro-league game. New Zealand are always tough opponents and we will need to bring our A game on Friday to get a result.”
Adjusting quickly to the demands of the FIH Pro League was something Great Britain men had to do very quickly in their opening match against Spain. They were 4-1 down at the end of the first quarter but put on an amazing comeback to win 6-5.
Starting slowly is not something Danny Kerry is likely to allow his team to do again. “We knew Spain were a very good team and only a set of circumstances had knocked them out of the World Cup early, which belied how good they really are.
“We knew the types of challenges they would throw at us, but knowing and being able to do are two different things. It took experiencing those things in the first quarter for us to be able to adjust. Fortunately we were able to turn around the deficit after the first quarter.”
So what of their next opponents? Things are always tight when the world number 7 and number 8 teams meet. “New Zealand have run both Belgium and the Netherlands very close in their recent Pro-League matches," says Kerry. "They have a well organised team with a set of skilful and dangerous athletes. Add in their home advantage and we will have to be at our very best to match them. It's going to be a tough. tough game.”
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