New Zealand men's and women's teams, both known as Black Sticks, have been making their way up the world rankings of late. A silver medal in the Hero Hockey League for the men, and a fourth-place finish for the women in the London 2012 Olympics has given the Black Sticks the confidence that they can be among the medals in the Hague.
Black Sticks men, who are coached by the former Belgium coach Colin Batch, are currently ranked sixth and come to the Hague on the back of a highly competitive test series against their neighbours and the world number one side, Australia. They lost the first match but the drawn second test demonstrates the Black Sticks ability to mix with the best.
The women have been involved in an intensive campaign since Christmas, including a series of matches in the USA and a four nations tournament at the newly-built New Zealand Hockey Centre. They are ranked fifth in the world and coach Mark Hager will be hoping they can play above that ranking as they did in London.
