HOCKEY: The Maoris have a phrase for it: Whaia te Tkitiki. Roughly translated, it means "reach for the heights".
And that's what Ireland will be doing as the Olympic qualifying tournament in Auckland enters a crucial phase.
In the early hours of this morning, Irish time, they faced Pool A leaders Germany before confronting Britain in their final game of the preliminary stages of the competition tomorrow.
Barring an unlikely slip-up by Britain against Ukraine, Ireland are already guaranteed a berth in the play-offs for fifth to eighth place and they must win both those games to clinch the last qualifying spot for Athens.
Pragmatists would say that conservation of energy should be the priority in the circumstances taking into account the rigours of a programme involving six matches in the space of 10 days.
However, national coach Riet Kuper doesn't share that opinion and she will be holding nothing back in her approach against Britain tomorrow.
It's a high-risk strategy, particularly as at least one player mentioned fatigue as a contributory factor in Saturday's 5-1 defeat to New Zealand.
The way the hosts, ranked fifth in the world, put Ireland to the sword did nothing to suggest that Kuper's squad will trouble a vastly experienced British team, against whom results have traditionally been poor.
At least Ireland should still be in the frame for qualification come Friday's first-phase play-off, a scenario which looked in doubt yesterday when Ukraine were beating New Zealand 2-0 at half-time. However, the Kiwis recovered to win 3-2, almost certainly condemning their opponents to last place in Pool A.
In the only other game played yesterday Korea defeated Russia 6-0 in Pool B.
A rematch with Ireland at the weekend following the Asians' 4-0 victory when the teams met in Cordoba last month looks a distinct possibility. Unless, of course, Ireland can surprise Britain.
Pool A
P W D L F A Pts
New Zealand 3 2 1 0 10 5 7
Germany 2 2 0 0 4 2 6
Ireland 2 1 0 1 2 5 3
Britain 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
Ukraine 3 0 0 3 3 6 0
