Eighteen players have been selected to the New Zealand Men’s Hockey Team to compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games late next month.
The Games will see the Gold Coast silver medallists take on Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Scotland in the group stages.
Birmingham 2022 will be head coach Greg Nicol’s first major competition in charge of the national side, having come into the role at the beginning of the year.
“We are looking forward to playing in Birmingham and getting back into major tournament mode” said Nicol.
“We have a strong group of players filled with determination, ready to have a crack at ending Australia’s 24 year grip on the gold medal. We are also excited about bringing an attractive style of hockey to the Games and giving Kiwis another reason to cheer.”
The squad selection will also see four key players make their first return to the side since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Captain Blair Tarrant, Kane Russell, Hugo Inglis, and Nic Woods have all been plying their trade in Europe for the past six months.
Tarrant is excited to pull on that black shirt again saying, “It’s always an honour to go out and represent your country – you never take it for granted.”
“We are fizzing to be heading to Birmingham, as a group we have been working hard towards this goal. We have a fresh and exciting squad ready to represent NZ with pride at the Games.”
NZOC Nicki Nicol extended her congratulations to the athletes.
“Well done to all the athletes named today for all the hard work they’ve put in to get to this point,” said Nicol.
“We wish them all the best as they put the final touches on their preparation, and we look forward to seeing them compete in Birmingham in a few weeks’ time.”
The full team is:
Jordan Cohen, Dom Dixon, Connor Greentree, Kim Kingstone, Oliver Mcintyre, George Muir, Tim Neild, Brad Read & Charl Ulrich have been named as reserves.
Men's hockey at Birmingham 2022 will begin on July 29th with matches to be held at the University of Birmingham.