Lausanne, Switzerland, June 30: Pool D contains three teams that have not had the benefit of FIH Hockey Pro League action as Australia, Belgium, Japan and South Africa get ready to take to the field in Terrassa.
Australia’s international action since the Olympic Games
Tokyo 2020 has been limited to Trans-Tasman competition against New Zealand.
Despite this, Australia will arrive in Spain as a team to be wary. They have
won this competition twice (1994 and 1998) and won silver three times (1990,
2006 and 2014). In 2018 they finished fourth.
Current Head Coach Katrina Powell was a member of the gold
medal team of 1998 and, with several months of hard work on the training field
under her belt, she will be looking to lead this team to a podium finish.
The team is talking up the fact that other nations haven’t
seen them in action, combined with a real fire to get back onto the world stage
among the players. While there is a new look to the squad that played in 2018,
with five players arriving with fewer than five caps, there is also a backbone
of experience. Captain Jane Claxton is approaching 200 caps and vice-captain
Kaitlin Nobbs is nearing 100. Another co-captain, Brooke Peris also has more
than 180 caps. Combine this knowledge with the desire to show Australian hockey
to the world again and the Hockeyroos could be there at the business end of the
event.
Belgium are a side that has benefited from FIH Pro League
action and, oddly, from not being at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. This latter
point was made by former Red Panther Jill Boon, who said the team had been able
to quietly develop and grow for the past four years without the intense
pressure of an Olympic Games. Despite a high number of caps among their ranks,
Belgium is the team with the youngest average age at the competition (24.11)
The team is packed with talented players that combine the
exciting use of 3D skills and long aerials with a disciplined possession game
when needed. Barbara Nelen, Stephanie Vanden Borre and Michelle Struck offer
stability. Ambre Ballenghien, Abi Raye and Charlotte Englebert are exciting
flair players and Alix Gerniers and Louise Versavel are showing the form of
their lives currently.
In 2018, Belgium finished a disappointing 10th, expect
much better for Raoul Ehren’s team this time.
Japan won the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2022 beating India,
Korea and China along the way. Under the charge of former India goalkeeper Jude
Menezes, the team has grown and – in keeping with their nickname – blossomed in
the past few months.
It is a team packed with talent and experience. Captain
Yuri Nagai, Hazuki Nagai and Shihori Oikawa are multi capped stalwarts in the
team. Yu Asai is unflappable in defence. New squad member Kaho Tanaka may only
have a handful of caps so far but she has already proved herself a dynamo in
front of goal.
Japan’s best finish at a World Cup was fifth in 2006 and
in London in 2018 they finished 13th, despite playing some very stylish hockey.
This year the Cherry Blossoms are aiming for the high branches.
South Africa are once more the African continents sole
representative and, as always, they will arrive in Terrassa ready to battle for
their country and their continent’s honour. The team’s best ever World Cup
finish was 7th in 1998 but in 2014 they achieved a commendable ninth, finishing
above their ranking.
South Africa has competed in every FIH Women’s World Cup
since 1998 and they have been solid performers at every edition.
The team arrives in Terrassa with a number of
inexperienced players but a backbone of athletes who know exactly what
competition of this level looks like. Lisa-Marie Deetlefs, Lilian du Plessis,
Bernadette Coston and Quanita Bobbs are hardened campaigners who will always
leave everything on the pitch. Temper this resolve with the energy and hard
running of Hanrie Louw, Bianca Wood and the goal scoring potential of
Jean-Leigh du Toit and it is a compelling team to watch.
Giles Bonnet is back in charge as Head Coach and he too
knows just how to get the most from his players.
FIH press release
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