Ahead of the 15th edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup taking place in Spain and the Netherlands (1-17 July), we’re conducting a series of exclusive interviews with the participating teams. Today: Hollie Pearne-Webb (ENG).
Hollie, England will play their 11th consecutive FIH Hockey Women's World Cup. What are your expectations as a team this time?
Obviously, we want a medal, that's the aim. But we're just going to have to see how it goes. The Tokyo Olympics being postponed a year has made it very different in terms of our build up. We've got a relatively new Great Britain squad and then, out of that, pick an England team. So, it's a very young and exciting team going into this World Cup. We probably not had as long together as we would have liked, but that could be a benefit for us because we're still at that kind of exciting stage about our journey. So, very much looking forward to it. We would love a medal of course, but at the moment we're just trying to build game on game.
You won bronze with Team GB last year in Tokyo. Is that a performance you can capitalise upon for this World Cup as well?
Getting to Tokyo we had faced a number of challenges as a GB squad. When we turned up to Tokyo, we put together consistent performances over the tournament which is something we had struggled to do leading into those games. So, I think the confidence that gives the England squad is hopefully, when we get to big tournaments, we have the ability to turn up and perform under pressure. That's a big plus that we hopefully we’ll take into this World Cup. Obviously it was hugely exciting to get that bronze medal as Team GB. Our England team looks slightly different - missing a few Scots and Welsh within our team going to the World Cup - but to have that kind of background just last year gives us a little bit more confidence.
Do your results at the Olympics give you some confidence to get back on the podium this time for the World Cup?
I wasn't involved in the London journey so I can't comment on that GB squad. And the Rio and the Tokyo Games were completely different in terms of the build-up. But yes, absolutely! I think that the buildup to Tokyo wasn't ideal for us as a GB squad but we showed a huge amount of resilience and then turned up when it mattered at the Games. Even though this is an England team and there's differences and there's been some retirements and some new faces added, I definitely think having that when it gets to big games, we can show up, we can deal with that pressure and we can, if we turn up on any given day, compete with the world's best. This is obviously good to have in the background and we can keep reminding ourselves that, as a relatively new England team.
With England you've also played the FIH Hockey Pro League this season, how do you look at this opportunity to play top level matches on a regular basis?
We love it! It's been great again to have the amount of international matches. That's the quickest way that we're going to learn, especially as a new squad and a new team. So to have the regular games both home and away has been hugely beneficial for us in terms of our learning. And to have the past month all our home fixtures as well has been a really nice build up into this World Cup. It's been great to play in front of home crowds again and something we've definitely missed since the COVID pandemic.
You're in a pool with China, India and New Zealand? How do you look at each of these teams?
It's a tough group. When you look at all the groups, they’re all tough! There's no easy games at a World Cup! Our first game is against India. As a GB squad we played them in the bronze medal game out in Tokyo. I think India women are a real threat on the international scene. They've got some really incredibly talented players. That first game for us is going to be a tough one but I think it's good that we've got a really competitive game for our opening game. Then we've got two other really tough ones with New Zealand which we haven't really seen this year because of COVID and them not being able to participate in Pro League. We don't know what to expect from them apart from we know they'll be good from previous experiences playing them. China are kind of building this new team under a new coach and we played them recently in Pro League and they've definitely made steps forward as well. Every game will pose us challenges in a slightly different way but three really tough games which hopefully means we have to get up to speed really quickly.
Any message that you would like to give to your fans?
Just thank you for all your support so far and we hope to see you there at the World Cup, whether there in person or you’re following us on the app. It would be great. We really value every single bit of support that we get. It's obviously been a tough ride the past few years and months and we're very excited about this World Cup being so close to home for us as well. We hope that many people can make it there to support us, so thank you very much and it's really great to have you with us.
