11 Apr 2012

Competition for Black Sticks' places to intensify at Four Nations tournament

9:18 am on 11 April 2012

The country's top womens hockey players have the last chance over the next few days to stake their claims on home soil before heading overseas to continue their Olympic buildup and selection process.

The Black Sticks conceded a series victory to Argentina in March with two draws and two losses but coach Mark Hager believes

they are starting to turn the corner and are match fit.

Hager says a Four Nations tournament starting tomorrow that involves two identical mini round robins will allow him to make changes for the second leg, intensifying competition for places in the final team for London.

New Zealand are ranked 6th in the world, and the other three nations involved in the tournament are Australia, the United States and India.