The Final Two Cents - Closing Ceremony, Tournament Function and Summary

Following our final game the team stuck around the stadium to enjoy the games left on show. The Bronze medal game was a tight tussle, Hong Kong taking third over Australia in golden goal much the the joy of our Hong Kong native Carl Chung.


Chinese Taipei again proved why they are leagues ahead in this part of the world taking the gold medal 43-16.

After the closing ceremony, teams made their way to a local hotel for the after-tournament function. Ale was flowing and the food was struggling to get past the Chinese contingent to the rest of the room. Special mentions were given to the tournaments top male and female goal scorers from Chinese Taipei, both cracking the 50 barrier. A tournament All-Star team was named with NZ's own Simon Cooper deservedly being named as one of the six boys on the back of some special performances on court. 

Once again the Kiwi's and Aussie's proved their prowess on the dance floor with Special Te Pou shuffling his way to dance floor legend status. Photobombing was another skill that came to the fore, I'm sure many of the players will get some surprises when the review their photos at home!!

The Adelaide night life was calling and many continued the night at some of the local establishments with our Aussie tour guides. As for the stories.......well what goes on tour eh!!


The next morning was to be a tough one, as the crew with at best a few hours of sleep under our belts, had to be at the airport by 6am. I'm sure it'll be a long journey home after the richly deserved celebrations the night before.


It was tough saying goodbye to the team as they boarded the plane. We have shared so much as a group through this week and over the past nine months that we all have special meaning to each other now.


I know that the future of Korfball in NZ will be bright with the right player and coach development. Each and every person involved with this side has grown stronger for the experiences. Development at a local level is now key and strengthening our international experiences with more trips overseas to raise our playing level. A trip to train and play in Taipei may be on the cards and fingers crossed with our bid to host the 2015 World Champs!


Keep smiling all and be proud of what you have achieved!!

Day 9 - Bateup is Cool and its Rosa’s Birthday!

Yeah….. Sarah wrote the title for today’s post!

So to the final day to round off what is most likely the most physically and mentally taxing week of the lives of any of the team members.

Fortunately for many weary bodies the were no training sessions today but that meant a whiteboard (in our case it was cardboard!) session to cover the key point and tactics we needed to undertake on court against China. I think Coach needs to work on his artistic skills a bit but his ‘creative’ drawings caused much amusement for the team!

Today was a special day as one of our co-captains Rosa Cooper was turning 23 today and after a tournament of struggling with leg injuries she was looking to celebrate with a win and stronger performance on court (not to mention a few beverages later on in the evening!!).

A final pre-game performance of Tutira Mai was performed on the bus by a pensive looking kiwi side. As we entered the stadium to Rise Up we passed a typical sight that was around all week, the Chinese having their pre-game cigarette outside the stadium. It’s hard to comprehend after the changes that have been made in NZ how smoking is such a normal part of the Chinese culture.

Today’s pre-game talk was about reflecting on the journey till this point, the people that have helped get us here and turning that into motivation for on court. A pumped up yet apprehensive NZ side took to the court. Attack Simon Cooper, Spencer Te Pou, Alisha Muir, Natasha Van Vuuren. Defence Carl Chung, Mikey Graham, Sarah Bateup and Rosa Cooper (C).

The game was to be typically physically intense as the size and basketball background of the Chinese players was evident. NZ began looking very promising, with the most cohesive attacking structure of the week being displayed on court.  After Simon Cooper and Xiao yang Liu traded two penalties each, the score was locked at 5-5 after 20 minutes. The seesaw first half continued with both sides showing good attacking play but neither being able to gain ascendancy in the game, China leading at half time 9-8.

The turning point in the game came at the start of the second half with China pressuring the NZers hard, scoring two quick goals and taking a three-goal lead in the game for the first time. We continued to hover two to three goals behind for the first 10 minutes until coach Garrett introduced the speed of Jamie Osborne with immediate effect. A subsequent penalty allowed the kiwi’s to close within one. China responded with a couple of sharp shots from distance to quickly return the lead to four goals. New Zealand continued to fight hard but could not recover from those two small patches where China took control. China took the game and the first reserve spot for world champs 21-19.

The two-goal margin was a vast improvement on the 11-goal loss earlier in the week but the result was still a painful one for the Kiwi’s. Again, coach Garrett summed things up fairly but noting that simple errors cost us the game but the performance on court today reflected the incredible growth of the team this week. He was heartened by that fact and stressed his excitement about the future of Korfball back in New Zealand if we can retain players and build on the momentum gained this week.

On a personal note, I am immensely proud of what this young team has achieved and the growth in each and every player both on and off court, not just through this week but also through the whole campaign. I can’t wait for you all to join me on court as members of the NZ senior team to help build a bright future for Korfball in our country and for us on the international stage!!

Day 8 - The Trans-Tasman Battle

There was little riding on day eight of the tournament for the New Zealand team after losing the China yesterday we were unable to progress above the battle for 5^th and 6^th tomorrow.

Dj S², Spencer ‘Special’ Te Pou earned Koru for the day for his weeklong effort at inspiring the team through his music and helping lead the daily Tutira Mai rendition on the team bus to the stadium.

The game against Australia was about putting some plans into place for the playoff on Saturday and also seeing who would earn their spot in the starting line up for the final day. The starting attack was Simon Cooper, Neville Brooker, Helen Abernethy and Natasha Van Vuuren. Starting in defence were Carl Chung, Spencer Te Pou, Alex Clark (C) and Lucy Bolton.

In the first play of the game Simon Cooper continued his fine form converting a 7m shot to give NZ an early lead. However, basic errors, poor ball retention and a lack of structure on attack quickly hurt the kiwis with Australia scoring 12 goals to NZ’s two through the mid stages of the first half. Late in the half two further goals each to Te Pou and Cooper closed the gap to leave NZ trailing 14-8 at the half.

Five changes were made by the teams during the break to give players a chance to stake a claim for the all-important game tomorrow.

Australia continued to show their dominance over a kiwi side that struggled today. A 10-1 run for the Skippies sealed the game through the start of the second half as the eventually closed out the game 29-12. Spencer Te Pou had his most complete performance of the tournament thus far, scoring five, being more active around the court and most likely earning him a starting spot tomorrow.

On the menu for tomorrows battle is the size of China who will be desperate to repeat their comprehensive victory over the kiwi side from earlier in the tournament.

Day 7 – Judgement Day vs China and a Coming of Age!

Today was the day our goal of making the top four and heading to Barcelona was on the line.

After yesterday’s antics many people had put their hands up for the distinguished honour of Koru’s caregiver for the day. The lucky recipient was Alisha Muir partly for the entertainment of pushing Nev in the pool while wearing only a towel and also for freaking out Sarah Bateup with her best impression of the Shakespeare Stabber or Stabby Mc Stab Stab. Not to mention the burning bottom incident……I’ll let her tell that story.

Koru ended up having a great day with Alisha, having more outfit changes than Nev Brooker at a Justin Beiber concert!

China had not had a successful tournament thus far, being winless till this point, but still challenging some of the stronger sides with their size and accurate shooting from close to the korf, only losing to Hong Kong in golden goal.

The game was again about putting a plan in place to combat their strengths while still focusing on playing within our structure. Starting in attack Simon Cooper, Spencer Te Pou, Alisha, Muir, Natasha Van Vuuren, and on defence Mikey Graham, Carl Chung, Rosa Cooper and Sarah Bateup.

The plan was to giving up contesting the rebound against their big boys in favour of reducing their shooting opportunities around the korf. Initially this paid huge dividends as we quickly built a 3-1 lead on the back of many defended calls against the Chinese from close to the korf. Unfortunately, defensive errors crept into the game of the kiwi’s allowing China to go on a six goal run before NZ coach Garrett called a time out. While the break halted China’s charge, the rest of the first half was frustrating for us as any time we gained some momentum a defensive mistake again gave China the ascendancy leaving us trailing 10-18 at half time.

New Zealand captain was building what was looking like a promising game with four goals in the first half and showing a high degree of control in shredding the Chinese defence.

China started the second half the stronger of the two teams scoring five early goals, only punctuated by a single goal to the NZ captain. With the game effectively over, both sides made a number of changes and during the final stanza the young Kiwi’s outscored China by 9-8, with Simon Cooper adding three further goals for a total of eight for the game, the highest by a NZer in a single international game.

The disappointment of losing this game and consequently being resigned to playing in the 5^th/6^th playoff on the final day was evident in the team after the game. However, Coach Garrett lifted the team by focusing on the positives of the game, our progression in on-court team play and our ability to put 20 goals on the board.

For both Coach Garrett and this physio who has played his entire Korf career with Simon, this game was a special moment. It represented the coming of age in his career as for the first time he controlled a game and scored freely against a tough defence. Today, a Korfball star from NZ was born on the international stage. There is no limit to what you can achieve mate, very very proud of you!

Lack of Posts

Sorry all, have ended up being a bit swamped dealing with injuries to haven't had time to do the blog. Will put the posts up from the last days later on today and give you all the low down from the end of the tournament!!

Pics From Day 6

Team foam roller torture

Star foam roller exponents Bateup and Osborne

Team Lunch :-)

Pool session with great dolphin impressions

Aquasize

Quiz Time - Rob's deep in thought!

Day 6 - R&R

After one tough day yesterday on the court, it was time for some time freedom.

Writing an entry in Koru's Korfball Adventures diary has become a task for those who have been Koru's minder for the day. There are some hilarious entries which I'll find some time to put some info up from sometime soon. For now, today Koru was passed on to one of our co-captains Rosa Cooper! Rosa earned this honour be being a great friend to Bubbles and providing some great spooning action to Rosa on the physio's bed.

The drive down to Mark's place in Willunga, an hour south, scenically wasn't that exciting but Neville Brooker had his nose pressed to the glass the whole way searching for a Kangaroo. Koru also had an eventful interview with Bubbles and Rosa, a video that has to be seen to be explained.

Once at Mark's place, after some emailing and skyping catch up with people back home, the physio put his torture hat on. Foam rollers were the device of choice, for those who haven't come across them before, they are dense foam cylinders that can be used in different ways. We worked on massaging our leg muscles to the sound of many groans from the players and chuckles of laughter from the physio!

After Mark's son Lachy served us his famous spag bol, some free time after lunch brought about many entertaining moments. The pool became to centre of attention after some piggy-back tennis. Bevan the team physio managed to attain the honour of being the first person to be pushed in Mark's pool, including being fully clothed, thanks to the wonderful Sarah Bateup. Needless to say, payback after the chase around the house was worth it as Bateup became the second person to end up in the pool fully clothed! That theme continued as Nev Brooker left himself wide open while standing in just a towel by the pool and Alisha Muir took full advantage, sending Nev plunging into the water below. Simon Cooper and Carl Chung also showed off their prowess as swimmers from their past sporting lives.


Once out of the pool seven people managed to squeeze into Mark's shower and I think you all need to ask Mikey Graham about his choice of underwear!!


The afternoon was rounded off with a game of 3 truths before dinner. Each player wrote down three true statements on a piece of paper, these were split into a 3 round quiz. It was a great way to learn some fun facts about each other including one individuals ability to eat and apple with her feet while reading a book!! Rosa Cooper took top place with Alisha Muir a close second.


Everyone was feeling much more physically and mentally brighter after a day away from the stadium and the hostel. We are looking forward to the challenge of China tomorrow in a must win game to make the top four.


PS - Photos will come soon.