Simon Orchard (born July 1986) is an Australian field hockey player. He plays for New South Wales in the Australian Hockey League. He is a member of the
Australia men's national field hockey team
The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight Summer Olympic Games (1 ...
and has won several medals with them including gold at the
2009 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy
The 2009 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 31st edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament. It was held from 28 November to 6 December 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.
Teams
The International Hockey Federation announc ...
, gold at the
2010 Men's Hockey World Cup
The 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup was the 12th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It was held from 28 February to 13 March ...
and gold at the
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
.
Personal
Orchard was born in July 1986 in
Muswellbrook, New South Wales
Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle.
Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Englan ...
. His hobbies include playing golf and playing his guitar. He took up hockey at the age of 11. He is married to Airlie Ogilvie, formerly of the Hockeyroos.
. He played in a June 2010 game for the New South Wales against the Tassie Tigers that New South Wales won 6–3. He scored a goal in the game.
National team
Orchard is a member of the
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 ...
. In January 2008, he made his senior national team debut at the Five Nations men's hockey tournament in South Africa. He represented Australia at the 2009 Champions Trophy, where his team earned a gold medal. New national team coach
Ric Charlesworth
Richard Ian Charlesworth AO (born 6 February 1952) is an Australian sports coach and former politician. He played first-class cricket for Western Australia and international field hockey for the Kookaburras (the Australian national team), winn ...
named him, a returning member, alongside fourteen total new players who had few than 10 national team caps to the squad before in April 2009 in a bid to ready the team for the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
. In 2010, he won a gold medal at the World Cup. He represented Australia at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
. In the gold medal match against India that Australia won 8–0, he scored a goal. In May 2011, he played in the Azlan Shah Cup for Australia. The Cup featured teams from Pakistan, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Britain and New Zealand. In December 2011, he was named as one of twenty-eight players to be on the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
Perth, Western 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 ...
. In February during the training camp, he played in a four nations test series with the teams being the Kookaburras, Australia A Squad, the Netherlands and Argentina. He played for the Kookoaburras against Argentina in the second game of the series where his team won 3–1. He scored a goal for his team. In another game against Argentina at the same competition, his team won 4-0 and he scored a goal. He was selected to play for Australia in the 2012 Summer Olympics, scoring two goals, including one in the bronze medal match where Australia beat Great Britain 3–1.
Recognition
In 2010, Orchard earned the Kookaburra's 2010 Player of the Year award, an award he shared with
Eddie Ockenden
Edward "Eddie" Clyve Ockenden (born 3 April 1987) is an Australian field hockey player. He plays in the midfielder and striker positions. He turned professional in 2008 and has played for teams in the Netherlands. He plays club hockey, having c ...