Leon Hayward (born 23 April 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player, who plays as a goalkeeper.

Personal life

Leon Hayward was born and raised in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

. He is the older brother of

Kookaburras Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

defender,

Jeremy Hayward Jeremy Thomas Hayward (born 3 March 1993) is an Australian field hockey player. Hayward was part of the Australian team who won the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup. The team defeated the Netherlands 6–1 in the final. Hayward was also awarded Youn ...

. His mother, Ellie, is of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

descent.

Career

Domestic leagues

Australian Hockey League

Leon Hayward made his debut in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

for the

NT Stingers The Darwin Airport Resort Territory Stingers aka NT Stingers are a men's Australian field hockey team, representing Northern Territory in the Australian Hockey League. References Australian field hockey clubs field hockey Field hock ...

during the 2012 tournament in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. He was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament during 2014 edition in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

New Zealand National Hockey League

In 2019, Hayward represented the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

men's team in the New Zealand National Hockey League in Tauranga.

National teams

Australia Under-21

In 2009, Hayward represented the '

Burras Burras is a village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately five miles (8 km) south of Redruth on the B3297 road.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is in the civil parish of St Gluvias St Gluvi ...

' on two occasions; at the

Australian Youth Olympic Festival The Australian Youth Olympics Festival (AYOF) is an international multi-sport event organised by the Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Aust ...

and Junior World Cup, winning gold and bronze medals respectively.

Kookaburras

Leon Hayward made his debut for the

in 2014, during a test series against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Perth, Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. His first and only major tournament for Australia was the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in

Ipoh, Malaysia , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

, where he won a silver medal.

Black Sticks

Due to his mother's ancestry, Hayward was eligible for selection in the NZL Black Sticks. He made the move to play for New Zealand following a four-year absence from Australian senior selection. He made his debut for the Black Sticks in 2019, during a test series against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Stratford, New Zealand Stratford ( mi, Whakaahurangi) is the only town in Stratford District, New Zealand, Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zealand's North Island. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, approximately halfw ...

. He was part of the New Zealand hockey squad which competed in the men's field hockey tournament during the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. It also marked his maiden appearance at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. He was also a member of the New Zealand hockey squad which competed in the men's field hockey tournament during the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

. It also eventually marked his maiden appearance at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. He was also named in the New Zealand squad for the

2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup The 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup will be the 15th edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It will be held at the Kali ...

and it also marked his maiden FIH Hockey World Cup appearance. During the 2023 Hockey World Cup, he played a clinical and important role which helped New Zealand to qualify to the quarter-final of the competition. He did not start in the playing XI in any of the matches at the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup as he was benched in favour of first-choice goal-keeper Dom Dixon. He played a huge role in New Zealand's stunning victory over hosts India in the crossover match during the 2023 World Cup which ended up in a penalty shootout where he made five saves out of eight penalties which effectively eliminated India out of the tournament. He came off the bench as a replacement to Dixon during the course of the decisive penalty shootout after both teams drew level at 3-3 before the final whistle was blown.

Accounting

He also holds a full time job as a chartered accountant at Finnz Chartered Accountants in Waikato,

. Prior to his commitment as a full-time employee at Finnz Chartered Accountants, he plied his trade in plenty of jobs in the field of finance and also had many coaching stints in field hockey. He reportedly admits that being a chartered accountant in day time and playing field hockey for 10 to 15 hours per week is a demanding job.

References

External links

* * 1990 births Living people Australian male field hockey players New Zealand male field hockey players Male field hockey goalkeepers Olympic field hockey players of New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Darwin, Northern Territory Sportsmen from the Northern Territory 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup players {{NewZealand-fieldhockey-bio-stub