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Blog 2012

Welcome to the Blog of Austin Smith - Here you can stay up to date with Austin's latest news, as well as the South African Team's progress from around the world.

22-03-2012 South African Olympic Qualifier Team - ANNOUNCED Below is the team selected to represent South Africa at the Olympic Qualifier in Japan from 26 April to 6 May 2012. click here to see the team...

15-03-2012 South African Olympic Qualifier Team...coming soon! The named in a few days time travelling to Kakamigahara, Japan to play for the final spot at the London Olympics. The tournament will run from the 26th April - 6th May in a round-robin format after which the teams placed in 1st and 2nd will play a final. Only the winner will qualify for the Olympics starting in late July. Here's a look at the teams competing along with their world rankings. South Africa (12), Japan (15), China (17), Austria (21), Czech Republic (23) & Brazil (42). click here to go to the tournament website...

14-03-2012 Heartbreak in the opening two games of the second half! Two weeks and only two points, not quite the start we were hoping for but we've still doubled the point we gained in the first half of the season. The performances have been much improved since the first half and there's a clear understanding about what we are trying achieve in both attack and defence. I think the biggest change has been the belief with which we have begun to play with, regardless of the pressure we are under to win matches. click here to read more...

11-03-2012 Den Bosch announce new head coach for 2012 - 2013 season and beyond Congratulations to Sjoerd Marijne on his appointment as head coach for the start of next season, regardless of the teams finish in this years competition. I think he's a top coach and wish him all the best! He will be the clubs fifth coach in just four years. click here to read more...

03-03-2012 Will Den Bosch Surive? As the second half of the season is about to restart I'm constantly hearing the question, can Den Bosch stay in the Hoofdklasse? As you can see from the table below it's not going to be an easy task. Having three points deducted for a mistake with our registration didn't help matters either. click here to read about what the new coach has to say... Men's Hoofdklasse Table Source: www.hoofdklassehockey.nl

2011

31-10-2011 Smith ready for Crucial Champs Challenge Austin Smith, the South African hockey captain, is fit and ready to lead his team in one of the most important tournaments the South Africans have ever played in, the 2011 Champions Challenge. The Champs Challenge is from 26 November to 3 December in Johannesburg. Countries from ninth to 16th on the world rankings will be in action. They are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Poland and South Africa. click here to read more

29-10-2011 Den Bosch Team Pictures Click here to see the Den Bosch Team for the 2011/2012 season, as well as the individual photos. Den Bosch Team 2011/2012 Photo by: Marjo

23-10-2011 South African Champions Challenge Squad Announced A squad of 24 players have been selected to attend a week long camp prior to the Champions Challenge which begins on the 26 November and runs until 4 December. The final 18 will be named just days before the teams opening game against Poland. If you would like to know more please visit the official tournament website www.champschallenge.co.za

Brendon Botes (Eastern Province), Jacques le Roux, Andrew Cronje, Austin Smith (capt), Ian Haley, Lloyd Norris-Jones (all Western Province, Rassie Pieterse, Lance Louw, Ricky West, Clinton Panther, Miguel da Graca, Thornton McDade (all Southern Gauteng), Gowan Jones, Lloyd Madsen, Gareth Carr, Wade Paton, Taine Paton, Tim Drummond, Marvin Harper (all KZN Coastal), Justin Reid-Ross, Rhett Halkett, Jonty Robinson, Nic Gonsalves (all Northerns Blues), Julian Hykes (Amatole-Border).

20-10-2011 Controversy in Holland, Den Bosch HC docked 3 points! It's hard to believe the situation that we now find ourselves in. The KNHB (Dutch Hockey Board) have docked our side three points for not having followed the correct registration procedures. I have taken translated quotes out of an online article (it's a direct translation hence the poor English). "The KNHB the hockey men of Den Bosch deducted three points given by the lack of proper papers for goalie Jacques le Roux, that leaves the Brabants Dagblad know". "The South African goalkeeper this summer was finally added to the selection. His work permit and residence permit had been in early September at the club and in order, but never arrived at the office of the KNHB. Le Roux was therefore not eligible to play in the only game he has so far notched for Den Bosch, off at Bloemendaal (7-3 loss)".

16-10-2011 My third season in Holland with Den Bosch Hockey Club Finally after three months away I'm back in Holland and ready for a new season with the black and yellow of Den Bosch Hockey Club. We have much to improve on from last season, a challenge which I accept with open arms. We have a completely new management team along with a few new players but the core of the team has remained which is a huge improvement on previous season's where we have seen a large turnover making any sort of continuity difficult. I wont be in action for the first two weeks as least until my broken hand is cleared by our team doctor.

09-09-2011 SA Men and Women qualify for the London Olympics!!! Wins for both the South African Men and Women at the African Olympics Qualifiers means that both teams have qualified for next years London Olympic Games. The men beat Egypt 1-0 in an extremely tense match and the women were comfortable winners once more in their final.

09-09-2011 Game 5 South Africa vs Kenya A closely fought first half made the game seem a lot closer than it was. We got ourselves together in the second half and put some nice pieces of play together. Final score was 8-3 to SA. Our win over Kenya puts us at the top of the table in line to play Egypt in the Africa Olympic Qualifier final on Sunday. The winner will earn a spot in next years London Olympics while the loser will have to go to another qualification tournament to stand a chance of being one of the twelve teams at the London Games. We have had the upper hand over Egypt at our last two qualifiers and I am positive we will extend that record on Sunday in the final. If you have any message of support please tweet or facebook me so I can put it up on the team message board. http://www.facebook.com/austinsmith5 http://twitter.com/AustinSmith5 Click below for a link to the match report from Jon Cook (SA Hockey reporter). http://www.sport24.co.za/OtherSport/SA-hockey-men-into-final-20110909

South African Men's Team
Photo by: Martin Van Staden

PRINCESS A5 ON SALE NOW!!! I've had a few emails this week about where the PRINCESS A5 can be purchased. Here are some contact details for when you decide to buy one. Stockists in South Africa Johannesburg - Sports Horizons Port Elizabeth - Brian Bands East London - Tallies Agencies Free State - Legends Hockey Cape Town - The Hockey Shop If you would like to buy a limited edition A5 stick from outside of South Africa please contact me on my email address on the contact page.

08-09-2011 Who is playing for Den Bosch this 2011/2012 season? The 2011/2012 Dutch league is only days away from beginning so I though I would let you know who Den Bosch has signed and who has moved on. We have a mixture of Dutch, Australian and South African internationals. In the management team we have a new coach, assistant coach and manager...click here to see the full squad

08-09-2011 Game 4 South Africa vs Egypt A controlled performance but just not enough attention to detail in the final third. Some poor defensive errors gave Egypt a couple of chances which they took. We can improve a great deal and I don't believe Egypt have to much more to offer. Final score 2 - 2. Tomorrow we play Kenya and have to get a point to qualify for the final on Sunday. If you would like to read the match report please follow the link below. http://www.sahockey.co.za/sa-hockey-teams/318-south-africa-and-egypt-thrill-the-crowd-in-bulawayos-khumalo-hockey-stadium

05-09-2011 Game 3 South Africa vs Ghana Not our best performance as a team against the physical Ghanaians this evening. To many basic errors along with a number of poor decisions made for a scrappy and unattractive game. We did maintain our clean sheet for the tournament though which was a positive. The final score 4-0. Link below for the match report. http://www.sahockey.co.za/sa-hockey-teams/315-sa-hockey-men-withstand-ghanas-second-half-assault

04-09-2011 Game 2 South Africa vs Zimbabwe A great performance from the team this evening in front of a packed grand stand, beating the hosts Zimbabwe 10 - 0. To read the match report please follow the link below. http://www.supersport.com/xtra/xtra/news/110904/SA_hockey_men_thrash_Zim

03-09-2011 Lloyd Norris-Jones reaches 50 and Marsha Marescia 250! Huge congratulations to my team mate Lloyd Norris-Jones on reaching 50 international caps for South Africa against Morocco yesterday, and scoring to top it off! Marsha to my knowledge has become the only South African women to ever reach the amazing 250 milestone, incredible Marsha, well done!

02-09-2011 Game 1 South Africa vs Morocco Newcomers to the African Olympic Qualifiers Morocco were shown no mercy from the SA Team this afternoon, South African winning 18 - 0. We have made our intentions clear about defending the title which we have held for the past six years. To read about the game please follow the link below. http://www.sahockey.co.za/sa-hockey-teams/308-sa-men-do-scalpel-and-sledgehammer-job-on-morocco

My accreditation for the week, Dr Smith		Khumalo Hockey Stadium

02-09-2011 Final Draft of the African Olympic Qualifiers Fixtures Here is the third and hopefully the final draft of the men's and ladies African Olympic Qualifiers fixtures. Uganda pulled out at the last minute in both competitions which meant the men's tournament structure was changed from two pools to a single pool...click here for the fixtures To get daily updates from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/austinsmith5 or Like my Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/austinsmith5

NEW STICK SPONSOR I am proud to announce my new stick sponsor PRINCESS! Princess Sticks were designed by two of the best International players in the World. Teun de Nooijer, Dutch International and FIH best player in the world 2003, 2005 and 2006 along with Jacques Brinkman, World and two time Olympic gold medallist. Together they designed the stick with only one thought in mind, creating a new level of top sticks. The New Limited Edition A5   It was a pretty simple decision for me, with the London Olympics in sight I wanted to align myself with the very best, Princess. Princess has recently been launched in South Africa and can be bought from a number of shops around South Africa. Click here for more info about Princess and where you can buy my new limited edition signature PRINCESS A5

29-08-2011 Spiral fracture rules Austin out of African Olympic Qualifier In the final of the recent men's IPT in Johannesburg I fell awkwardly on my right hand. I wasn't able to continue and after seeing a hand specialist it appears I've fractured it, but fortunately it was no displaced meaning surgery was not necessary. My hand and wrist have been put into a specially molded cast. click here for the SA Men's and Ladies teams as well as some pics of my hand

30-08-2011 Three South African's to Den Bosch Hockey Club for next season Jacques Le Roux, Rhett Halkett and I are all going to be playing in the black and yellow of Den Bosch for the coming 2011 / 2012 season. Follow the link below to read about our latest signing. http://hoofdklassehockey.nl/nieuws/keeper-le-roux-nieuwe-keeper-den-bosch

Austin playing for Western Province at the 2011 IPT in Johannesburg
Photos by: Amelia Cox

20-08-2011 IPT Day 5: Despair for WP team The Echelon Western Province team had to settle for silver in a thrilling final on Saturday. An improvement from last years third place finish but not at all what this team was capable of.

19-08-2011 IPT Day 4: Final looms for undefeated WP A string of missed opportunities for Kaspersky Southerns in a tight semi final meant Echelon Western Province were able to guarantee their place in the final of the SA Men?s Interprovincial Tournament at Kaspersky complex in Randburg, Johannesburg with a 3-2 victory...click here to read more

18-08-2011 IPT Day 3: Province make their intentions clear Although slow out of the starting blocks, the Echelon Western Province side were able to eventually overcome Eastern Province in the last of the pool matches at the SA Men?s Interprovincial Tournament at Kaspersky complex in Randburg, Johannesburg...click here to read more

17-08-2011 IPT Day 2: WP secure their place in semis Day two of the SA Men?s Interprovincial Hockey tournament at Kaspersky complex in Randburg went underway with a fiery first match between Northerns Blues and Echelon Western Province. WP clinched a 2-1 victory in a game that swung from end to end in a spectacular manner...click here to read more

16-08-2011 IPT Day 1: Smith?s double seals the deal Echelon Western Province gave a solid performance to overcome fellow provincial team, the Western Province Peninsula. A fast paced game with goals a plenty from the first whistle resulted in a 7-1 victory to the Echelon WP side...click here to read more

15-06-2011 The 2011 Hoofdklasse Player of the Year is awarded to... After each game both coaches award 5, 3 and 2 points to the player who in their opinion performed the best in that match. Each week these scores are tallied up and at the end of the year this is how it finished. I have highlighted all the foreign internationals in the top 50, and written where in the world they come from...click here to see the list

15-06-2011 SA Men's Hockey Team need your help! The South African Men's Hockey Team are running two exciting ALL STAR SERIES these holidays. The first of these events the Eagle Turf All STAR SERIES will run from 24 - 30 June in Durban. Eagle Turf have already come forward as the title sponsor for this event but we are still looking for more sponsors to be apart of this exciting new series...click here to see the poster and for more info

07-06-2011 Brenden Botes Tavcor Academy I would like to send my best wishes to all the girls and boys who take part in the Brenden Botes Tavcor Academy in Port Elizabeth. Brenden is a great friend of mine and I wish him and the participants of this great academy all the very best. I hope to be able to come up to PE and meet you all soon. Best wishes, Austin Smith

27-03-2011 Meeting up with the South Africans in Amsterdam I was lucky enough to have a number of school kids watching our game against Amsterdam last weekend. They are on tour here for a couple of weeks to learn from some of the top players in the world and experience the best club hockey has to offer. Our performance as a team on the day was disappointing but it was still great to have some local support in the crowd. Best wishes to all of the boys and management for the remainder of their trip...click on the photo to see it in full size

02-04-2011 Life back in The Netherlands with Den Bosch Hockey Club We are six games into the second half of the Hoofdklasse season here in The Netherlands, and with just five games to go things are getting extremely tight at both ends of the table. We are currently in 10th place and sitting in the 'play out' zone...click here to see the table and read more about our past six matches

Austin celebrating a goal for Den Bosch in front of the home crowd!
Photo by: Marc Bolsius

New Balance New Balance are once again supporting me this year and I couldn't agree with there slogan of 'everyone fits here' from an advert of theirs which I recently saw. Have a look at the link to find out one of the reasons I wear New Balance...click here to see the new balance advert

10-01-2011 A round up of the results in 2010 Have a look at the link below to see all the results I was involved in for 2010 year. click here to see the results

2010

18-11-2010 Austin Smith named 2010 South African Men's Player of the Year I was lucky enough to be named South African Player of the Year for the second time in my career. The South African hockey awards ceremony was held two weeks ago...click here to see who else won awards

Austin at the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India (South African Player of the Year for 2010)

17-11-2010 Commonwealth Games round up The Commonwealth Games have now come and gone, and I reflect back on the tournament which I had prepared for many months. There is no denying the disappointment of of our 5th place finish out of the ten competing teams. Here is what the final standings looked like. click here to see what else I had to say about the Commonwealth Games

South African Commonwealth Team 2010

Back row: Ian Haley, Lance Louw, Julian Hykes, Wade Paton, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Lloyd Madsen, Justin Reid-Ross, Thomas Hammond, Rhett Halkett, Tim Drummond, Marvin Harper, Taine Paton. Front row: Brendan Botes, David Viney (asst. coach), Gareth Carr, Greg Clarke (coach), Austin Smith (captain), Anton Van Rooyen (manager), Eddie Bodha (physio), Rassie Pieterse .

21-09-2010 Bridge collapse, village problems and security concerns Concerns over the Commonwealth Games have been heightened due to the recent bridge collapse at the main stadium, questions over the 'habitability' of the village accommodation and the recent security breach. Have a look at the links for more information. http://www.supersport.com/xtra/xtra/news/100921/Nations_shocked_at_athletes_village http://www.news24.com/World/News/Bridge-collapses-near-Delhi-stadium-20100921 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11379938

16-09-2010 Commonwealth Games, just 17 days away! There are just over two weeks until the Commonwealth Games begin. Our first match against Canada is on the 5th October, but make sure you watch the opening ceremony on the 3rd October where you will see our hockey side, as well as the rest of Team South Africa. SuperSport (South African broadcaster) will have dedicated channels. For more information about the games have a look at the official website. http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org

17-09-2010 SEVEN new pitches at Den Bosch It's hard to believe that the club has just replaced the five old turfs and relaid them all, along with another two. We now have 4 sand, and 3 water based turfs at the club. Have a look at the the new website for more info about the club. http://www.hcdenbosch.nl

Den Bosch Hockey Club's new complex

15-09-2010 The season begins! I arrived back in Holland last week to start another season with Den Bosch HC. Our first match against last years league runners up HGC went well, and despite not taking all of our chances we were happy with a 3-3 draw. The reason I say we were happy with the draw was because we had to fight back three times to equal the scoring. Mattijs Brouwer, Mitch Darling and I all scored in this opening game of the season. Next week (19-09) we face SCHC who have employed the services of fellow South African Lloyd Norris-Jones. We look forward to welcoming him and the rest of his team to Den Bosch for our first home game of the season.

12-09-2010 Den Bosch squad announced, who has come and gone? As promised, the new signings for this season. Rob Reckers (Dutch International) Rhett Halkett (South African International) Mitch Darling & Alan Sothern (Irish Internationals) Andrew Eversden (Laren); Dan Zaadbergen (OZ); Camille Vanemstede (Kampong); Kieran Dartee, Joep Burgerhof, Bruno Bolsius, Bas De Kok, Julien Van Den Nieuwnhuijze and Sander Oosterbaan all from the Den Bosch U18 team from last year. Read more to see who has left and who has remained from last year

01-09-2010 Time to coach the next generation On Wednesday I had the opportunity to get out of Cape Town and venture into the nearby suburb of Durbanville. I was invited by a past teacher of mine to come and run a session at Chesterhouse as they were trying to develop and raise the profile of hockey at the school. I gladly accepted their offer, and thoroughly enjoyed working with a great bunch of hockey players.

Austin coaching at Chesterhouse School in Durbanville, South Africa

29-08-2010 IPT ends, Tayla Western Province finish 3rd A good, hard and competitive week of hockey has come to an end. For the second year running Western Province fell short in the semi finals. We faced Northern's in the first of the two semi finals. click here to see the final standings

Austin playing for Western Province

25-08-2010 IPT Day 1 and 2 results After two days of hockey in Port Elizabeth, and a final round of pool games to go there are still seven teams who are able to make it into semi finals on Friday. Tayla Western Province are yet to show their true form in pool A, only managing a narrow win against the Peninsula team and a draw against Southern's. Despite being top of the table Tayla Western Province are still not a certainty for the semi's. click here to read more and see all the results and tables

09-08-2010 Austin resumes training in Holland for the upcoming season Today I returned to Den Bosch in Holland, to begin the pre season training with the team. As I am leaving in two weeks time for IPT in South Africa it will be a good chance to catch up with everyone again, and make some solid connections. There have been a few changes in the team, but I will post something closer to the start of the season about the new signings and who's left. The league begins on the 12th September, we have drawn HGC away as our opening game.

03-08-2010 Commonwealth Games Hockey match schedule The match schedule has been announced. It hasn't been certified for sure but it will more than likely look as follows...click here to read more

21-07-2010 South African Men's Team for the Commonwealth Games The team has been selected, here they are in alphabetical order. Brendan Botes, Gareth Carr, Tim Drummond, Ian Haley, Rhett Halkett, Thomas Hammond, Marvin Harper, Julian Hykes, Lance Louw, Lloyd Madsen, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Wade Paton, Taine Paton, Erasmus Pieterse, Justin Reid-Ross, Austin Smith (captain). Manager: Anton van Rooyen. Coach: Gregg Clark. Assistant coach: David Viney. For more information about the tournament have a look at the official website...www.cwgdelhi2010.org

17-06-2010 Austin remains at Den Bosch for 2010/2011 season I have made my decision to remain at Den Bosch for the coming season. I had thought about returning to the United Kingdom but in the end The Netherlands and Den Bosch in particular was the best option for me to take. I look forward to the first match on the 12th September later on this year.

13-06-2010 Top 50 finish in Wargrave 10k Today I competed in my first 10km race. I've done a number of 5k's and half marathons but never a 10k. I was fairly pleased with my time of 40:45 minutes, which placed me in the top 50 of the 700 entrants. click here to see all the official times

Austin at the start of the Wargrave 10km race (scroll over the image to see him in action)
Photo by: Amelia Cox

23-05-2010 Historic WIN for Berkshire County Another tough day at the office with two full games of hockey in just 4 hours! Berkshire, the team I was playing for were only promoted into the A Division in 2009. This year we made history by making the finals for the first time in Berkshire hockey history. We got there by beating Shropshire 5-3. Gareth Carr scored three fine penalty corners and I finished off two other chances...click here to read more

Berkshire Men's Hockey Team - County Champions 2010 (scroll over for celebratory picture)
Photo by: Amelia Cox

03-06-2010 Wargrave 10km here I come! I decided to take on the local 10km race in two weeks time to kick start my individual training program here in the UK. I've not actually competed in a 10km race before, I've entered a number of 5km races and one half marathon but never a 10km. These past two days I've done two 8km runs to start getting back into form and felt pretty good. If anyone else in the area would like to join me, race entries need to be in by the 9th June. If you have already entered I'll see you at 10am on Sunday 13th June. Wish me luck! click here to get an entry form

23-05-2010 Berkshire cruise to finals weekend What a weekend of hockey, four matches in just two days! I had the privileged of being apart of the Berkshire Men's County hockey team again this year. The goal - defend our title as reigning champions! ...click here to read more

Austin playing for Berkshire County Reading, England
Photo by: Amelia Cox

21-05-2010 GOOD LUCK DAMES A2 I want to wish my Dutch U18 team all the best for their remaining two matches. I wish I could be there to cheer you on, but I know you will do it without me. All the best, and thank you for a wonderful season. Austin

17-05-2010 Dutch season comes to an end Another season of European Hockey comes to an end. A disappointing end really, losing our final match 3-2 to Pinoke. We were comfortably 2-0 ahead but the momentum swung in their favour just before half time. Despite Pinoke fielding their A1 keeper in the second half, we were still unable to score. Corner after corner the young replacement made a number of fine saves to give Pinoke the win and 8th position. We had to settle for 9th position, just one place above the play downs...click here to see the final standings

11-05-2010 Where will Austin be in 2010/2011? I am hoping to make a decision in the next week or so about where I will be based for the coming 2010/2011 season. Hopefully it will be my next update!

Team Den Bosch
Photo by: Amelia Cox

10-05-2010 Comfortable win means we should be safe! What a weekend, and what a turn around from the Sunday before against SCHC. We had a good week training, and it certainly showed in our performance on Sunday against Hurley. It was a big game for Hurley, a win could have seen them pull 4 points away from SCHC, and avoid automatic relegation. We on the other hand were motivated by the opportunity to stay clear of the playoffs...click here to read more

03-05-2010 The HIGHS and lows of the past double weekend Another double weekend where we faced Oranje-Zwart and SCHC, both away. The first match of the weekend was against OZ. When we last met in November we played to a 3-3 draw, with a number of missed chances for both teams to win it. Friday's match was far more controlled. We took the lead through a faint deflection in the early minutes, but quickly gave that lead away when we were undone by a fine aerial ball. OZ then went 2-1 in the lead. We scored before half time to go 2-2 into the break. ...click here to read more

26-04-2010 A2 Girls one step closer to being Kampioenen On Saturday my Den Bosch girls drew 1-1, a win would have given us the league title with two weeks to go but it wasn't to be. The team we were playing against, Uden played extremely well. We had to wait until the last few minutes of the match until we were able to break through their defence and score. 1-1 was probably a fair reflection of the game. We now have a three week break until we play our last two matches. click here to see the A2 league table

25-04-2010 Den Bosch lose 4-2 to league leaders HGC Yet another frustrating day! I was unfortunately still sidelined with my broken finger. The good news is that the cast is coming off tomorrow, and the Doctor will decide whether it is ok to play or not on Friday against Oranje- Zwart. Todays match was much like the game last week against Amsterdam. We had a few chances but HGC were far better at taking the opportunities which they created. They dominated us in most departments and showed why they were leading the Hoofdklasse. A poor showing from ourselves in my view, we are better than what we produced today. We need to work far harder as a unit to close down oppositions build ups in the coming games. 3 weeks to go...click here to see the league table

19-04-2010 Draw and a loss for Den Bosch, 4 weeks left in the season It's not an easy task watching from the sideline. My left hand is still in a cast and will be for the next week at least. The first of the double headers was on Friday night, where 'we' played Kampong. They played far better hockey and were deservedly 2-0 in the lead with just five minutes to go. In a bizarre twist... click here to read more

12-04-2010 Den Bosch beats Tilburg, followed by my first Dutch hospital trip Good news or bad news first? Good news - we beat Tilburg 4-1 at home on Sunday afternoon. That means we are now six points above them on the table. Bad news - I've broken my finger which means I'll miss the next few weeks while it heals. I'm not even sure how it happened, sometime during the first half I think. The plaster makes it look far more serious, but I assure you it's only a broken finger, just below the knuckle. It looks like I'll miss the coming weekends double header against Kampong and Amsterdam. Despite my bad luck, it's great to start on a winning note!

All this for a broken finger! (scroll over for before picture)

10-04-2010 SA Men and Women are going to the Commonwealth Games We have finally heard that both South African Men's and Ladies teams will be attending the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India from the 3rd - 14th October 2010. For more information about the tournament have a look at the official website...www.cwgdelhi2010.org

06-04-2010 WPHU Princess Pro Series is launched Dear Western Province Hockey Union Congratulations on your new initiative, the PRINCESS PRO SERIES! This is exactly what our province and country needs to raise the level of hockey, and its profile. Players who are based in Western Province area are fortunate to have people willing to try new ideas such as this one...click here to read more

04-04-2010 Back in Holland, back to work... I arrived back in Holland on the 25th March. I'm back early to prepare for the final five weeks of the Hoofdklasse competition. My club team Den Bosch are currently in 9th place so we need to prepare well for the coming nine remaining games. I had a good rest in the UK and I feel ready mentally and physically. ...click here to read more

Den Bosch vs Laren in a warm up game (I'm shirt number 23 for Den Bosch)
Photo by: Amelia Cox

15-03-2010 WORLD RANKINGS UPDATE South Africa climb the ABN~AMRO MEN'S WORLD RANKINGS. We are now 12th in the world, narrowly behind Canada. Go to the media page for a link to the official website.

12-03-2010 10th place it is for the South African's Our World Cup has come to an end. Finishing 10th is certainly not what we were aiming for, so to end up here is a disappointment, despite it being three places higher than our world ranking of 13th. ...click here to read more

08-03-2010 SA Men miss their chance Well I think my headline says it all really, chance missed. Today we had the opportunity to achieve something special for SA Hockey...click here to read more

06-03-2010 South Africa's win keep the hopes of a top 8 finish alive Today South Africa was back in the record books. The victory over Pakistan was their first ever and South Africa?s first World Cup victory since the 2002 tournament where they beat Belgium for 13th place... click here to read more

04-03-2010 Poor showing by SA Men vs Australia Well, what can I say about that? When asked in the press conference after the game how I felt about the result I said ?Not great?! I then continued to explain what I thought led to the crushing 12-0 defeat... click here to read more

02-03-2010 SA Men defeated by England in 10 goal thriller South Africa started today?s game with the same line up as they did when they played Spain two days ago. An unusually hot today suited the South Africans who are used to hot, humid conditions...click here to read more

28-02-2010 SA Men Lose 4-2 in World Cup Opener South Africa ranked 13th and Spain 3rd played the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday evening in New Delhi, India. South Africa competing in their 4th World Cup has only five players from their last Championship team which finished 12th in Germany back in 2006. This is however all in the past and has no bearing on what this new team can achieve...click here to read more

24-02-2010 SA Men go down to The Netherlands in opening warm up game A disappointing start to our World Cup campaign today. The Netherlands a team we were close to beating just over a month ago found it far to easy to put goals past us. We showed very promising play throughout the game but failed to react quick enough on our turnovers...click here to read more

South African Men's World Cup Team February 2010 New Delhi, India

2009