Australia are reigning men’s World champions and kick off the Rabobank Hockey World Cup against Malaysia on Saturday, May 31 at 10.30 hours. Captain Mark Knowles says defending the world title does not place extra pressure on his team: ‘We go in wanting to win and hoping to win and that’s as much as you can do.’ The Kookaburras also head the men’s rankings and have taken part in 11 World Cups, bringing home eight medals, including the gold in 1986 and 2010.

Gold in Utrecht
The Australian women’s team also have a first on May 31st – their match at 14.30 hours against South Korea inaugurates the purpose-built GreenFields Stadium. The number four team in the world rankings have good memories of playing in the Netherlands because they took the world title at the Utrecht championships in 1998. The team’s last medal dates from 2006 when they won silver and the Hockeyroos are keen to recapture the world title this time round. ‘They are a really competitive bunch, they have drive and they train really hard,’ says captain Madonna Blyth. The special GreenFields RX World Cup synthetic turf is unlikely to provide any surprises for the Australian teams. They’ve been able to practice on the surface in Perth’s hockey stadium since the beginning of this year.

World Cup app and Facebook
Want to know more about the Australian teams ? Download the World Cup app (App Store or Google play) or go to our Facebook page which this week focuses on Australia. There you can check out the video ‘This is Australia!’, featuring the captains and different players. You can find more extensive information on the website via the country pages.

Australia in the Netherlands
Dutch hockey club Klein Zwitserland in The Hague is hosting the Australian teams during the World Cup.