Today was a day of first time experiences for a NZ Korfball team. The first time we play as a nation in Europe, the first time against opposition outside the Asia/Oceania region (both Europe and South America) and for the majority of our players it was the first time for them to pull on the Silver Fern!
Our day started early, meeting at De Eendracht at 7.45am. Most people in The Netherlands drive European cars, not in Nijeveen though, where DOS ’46 has been sponsored for the past 40 years by Meppel’s Toyota dealership, under the ownership of three generations of the Van der Linde family, hence five Toyotas making the 45 minute journey in convoy from the village to Leeuwarden, actually in sunshine for the first time in the seven days that we have now been here.
On arrival, we went straight into final preparation mode for our first game against Brazil. Juliet, despite the calming attempts of those around here said she was “shaking so much before the game” but at the same time was “ridiculously excited” to be wearing the Silver Fern and representing her country. Brazil were under the guidance of former top referee Jorge Alves, of Portugal, who has visited New Zealand on a number of occasions, Brazil is a young team representing a young korfball country. Our opponents asked for a minute’s silence before the game as one of their parents had just died and they wanted to show their respect. After that emotional beginning, it quickly became clear that we held the advantage. James scored our first goal early and for periods we managed to make our dominance count, particularly in Jared, Juliet, Boris and Alice’s section, which maintained a tight grip in defence, creating numerous turnovers, and kept the scoreboard ticking over when they went into attack. We built a 6-2 advantage at half time and ran out to 13-6 final score. It was an excellent way to settle the nerves at the start of the tournament, especially for Juliet who said she “finally calmed down about ten minutes into the game”.
Next up was an entirely different proposition: The Netherlands. For the first time at any level, New Zealand matched up against the superpower of international korfball. Coach Mark, with support from our assistant mastercoach Nico, rotated the line up, giving players who didn’t start the first game a chance to show what they could do. Our objective was to frustrate the Dutch as much as possible, force them into errors if we could, and keep our shape in attack with good passing and ball movement. During their earlier game, against Romania, The Netherlands piled on 20 goals in the first half, and then took it very easy in the second. Although the result in our game was never in doubt, we managed to keep our opponents busy for much longer and they didn’t really ease off the pace until the last few minutes. Sam had the honour of scoring our first goal, and in the end the result was 24-6.
Our final game for the day was against Chinese Taipei, consistently the strongest korfball country outside Europe for at least the last ten years. Although we were determined to play our game and build on what we had achieved in the first two matches, we struggled to stay focused and allowed the physical and athletic style of Chinese Taipei to over-awe us, particularly in the last few minutes of the first half when the score blew out. It wasn’t until late in the game that we found better rhythm and managed to construct more effective attacks, though by that time there was no way we were going to catch the Asian powerhouse, and the final score was 20-4.
Ahead of tomorrow, we need to take a lesson from both the games we lost, particularly the Chinese Taipei game, and see if we can increase our intensity, against first England, then Catalonia, then Romania, as we fight to achieve the highest possible placing in our group.
One of the special moments of the day was between the first and second games when a group of half a dozen or so young Friesland korfball fans, aged about nine or ten years old, approached us to ask for our autographs and have a chat. Media darling Boris also had to take time out from the team early in the day for yet another interview.
During our three matches, we really appreciated the support of all the people who made their way to De Kalverdijkje to cheer us on, including from Amsterdam and further afield. We also love hearing from the supporters who are following us back home in New Zealand, and elsewhere, via the tournament livestream. You inspire us and it is a big thrill to know that you are out there, following our progress and urging us on.
Tot morgen
Rob and Bevan
Our day started early, meeting at De Eendracht at 7.45am. Most people in The Netherlands drive European cars, not in Nijeveen though, where DOS ’46 has been sponsored for the past 40 years by Meppel’s Toyota dealership, under the ownership of three generations of the Van der Linde family, hence five Toyotas making the 45 minute journey in convoy from the village to Leeuwarden, actually in sunshine for the first time in the seven days that we have now been here.
On arrival, we went straight into final preparation mode for our first game against Brazil. Juliet, despite the calming attempts of those around here said she was “shaking so much before the game” but at the same time was “ridiculously excited” to be wearing the Silver Fern and representing her country. Brazil were under the guidance of former top referee Jorge Alves, of Portugal, who has visited New Zealand on a number of occasions, Brazil is a young team representing a young korfball country. Our opponents asked for a minute’s silence before the game as one of their parents had just died and they wanted to show their respect. After that emotional beginning, it quickly became clear that we held the advantage. James scored our first goal early and for periods we managed to make our dominance count, particularly in Jared, Juliet, Boris and Alice’s section, which maintained a tight grip in defence, creating numerous turnovers, and kept the scoreboard ticking over when they went into attack. We built a 6-2 advantage at half time and ran out to 13-6 final score. It was an excellent way to settle the nerves at the start of the tournament, especially for Juliet who said she “finally calmed down about ten minutes into the game”.
Next up was an entirely different proposition: The Netherlands. For the first time at any level, New Zealand matched up against the superpower of international korfball. Coach Mark, with support from our assistant mastercoach Nico, rotated the line up, giving players who didn’t start the first game a chance to show what they could do. Our objective was to frustrate the Dutch as much as possible, force them into errors if we could, and keep our shape in attack with good passing and ball movement. During their earlier game, against Romania, The Netherlands piled on 20 goals in the first half, and then took it very easy in the second. Although the result in our game was never in doubt, we managed to keep our opponents busy for much longer and they didn’t really ease off the pace until the last few minutes. Sam had the honour of scoring our first goal, and in the end the result was 24-6.
Our final game for the day was against Chinese Taipei, consistently the strongest korfball country outside Europe for at least the last ten years. Although we were determined to play our game and build on what we had achieved in the first two matches, we struggled to stay focused and allowed the physical and athletic style of Chinese Taipei to over-awe us, particularly in the last few minutes of the first half when the score blew out. It wasn’t until late in the game that we found better rhythm and managed to construct more effective attacks, though by that time there was no way we were going to catch the Asian powerhouse, and the final score was 20-4.
Ahead of tomorrow, we need to take a lesson from both the games we lost, particularly the Chinese Taipei game, and see if we can increase our intensity, against first England, then Catalonia, then Romania, as we fight to achieve the highest possible placing in our group.
One of the special moments of the day was between the first and second games when a group of half a dozen or so young Friesland korfball fans, aged about nine or ten years old, approached us to ask for our autographs and have a chat. Media darling Boris also had to take time out from the team early in the day for yet another interview.
During our three matches, we really appreciated the support of all the people who made their way to De Kalverdijkje to cheer us on, including from Amsterdam and further afield. We also love hearing from the supporters who are following us back home in New Zealand, and elsewhere, via the tournament livestream. You inspire us and it is a big thrill to know that you are out there, following our progress and urging us on.
Tot morgen
Rob and Bevan