Samoa is to compete for the first time at next week's Oceania hockey cup, being held in Invercargill.
While the women last competed about 25 years ago, and are ranked 60th in the world, finishing with a bronze medal at the South Pacific Games in 2007, it's the first time the men's team has competed in the competition.
The President of the Samoan Hockey Federation and men's coach Faamausili Taiva Ah Young says it's he's confident both teams can do well against the top ranking teams Australia and New Zealand.
"It's a big exposure to us, and it's also just to feel for where we stand in so far as hockey internationally. We're planning to compete in the Pacific Cup in December in Fiji, but this is like a stepping stone. I know it's a big ask to compare us to Australia but we've got a fairly strong team."
He says the team's ultimate goal would be to compete at the Commonwealth and Olympic games.
