Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ONE of the longest serving Zimbabwe women national hockey team players, Nicola Watson called it a day when she represented the country for the last time against Namibia in South Africa last Sunday.
The 38-year-old Watson had turned out for her country since she was 17 way back in 1998. Watson, who mostly played in midfield and sometimes upfront bowed out having scored a brace in Zimbabwe’s 3-2 triumph over Namibia at the Africa Cup of Nations held in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The win saw the Flames finish as the third best women’s team at the tournament.
Watson still recalls being called up to play for Zimbabwe on that tour of Malaysia in 1998 where they played against the host nation and Singapore. She got to represent the country at the 1999 All Africa Games staged in South Africa where the Zimbabwean girls were the second best team behind the host country.
“So it all started with the tour to Malaysia in 1998 where we played Malaysia and Singapore then 1999 was probably one of my best years of international hockey as I was in my first year of university and was selected to play for Zimbabwe in the 1999 all Africa Games in Johannesburg. We ended up winning a silver medal at that tournament.
It was a huge learning experience for me and I got to play my first match against South Africa,’’ Watson said.
Watson did not play for the national team again until 2011. She did don national colours for the Under-21 in a fixture against Emerging South Africa in 2000.
While at Rhodes University, Watson turned out for Eastern Province at Under-21 and senior level from 1999 until 2002. Her not representing Zimbabwe was because she left the country for England where she was based for seven years.
She represented Zimbabwe in a combined 32 matches in field as well as indoor hockey, with that figure certain to have been higher had she played for the country while she was based in England.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get to play for the senior national Zimbabwe team again until 2011. I did however, play in a Zimbabwe Under-21 team against an Emerging South African team in Zimbabwe in 2000. I also represented Eastern Province at both Under-21 and senior levels while
I was at Rhodes University from 1999 to 2002,’’ she said.
While in England, Watson played club hockey in the premier league for Wimbledon Hockey Club and then Raynes Park Hockey Club.
On her return to Zimbabwe, Watson was appointed national captain ahead of the 2011 African Olympic Qualifiers staged at Khumalo Hockey Stadium. It was not such a great tournament for the Zimbabwean women who missed out on the bronze, something she feels was one of the lows in her international career.
“After moving back to Zimbabwe in 2010 I was selected to play for and captain the national ladies team in the African Olympic qualifiers here in Bulawayo in 2011. Unfortunately we did not do as well as we had hoped and ended up losing to Ghana in the third and fourth playoff so we missed out on the bronze medal.
This was a low for me as we had hoped to at least come second in this tournament.”
Watson took time off the international game to have children but continued to play club and provincial hockey in Zimbabwe.
Two years ago, Watson was picked for the national women indoor team which travelled to Namibia to play in a World Cup qualifier.
This was the first international indoor tournament Zimbabwe had ever played in so for Watson it was a huge learning experience for the Zimbabweans. She then played against South Africa in a five-match Test series in the neighbouring country in November 2017 and then again in Zimbabwe in August last year.
Watson revealed that at the start of this year, she thought of representing her country for the final time at the Africa Cup of Nations, which served as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. It was a memorable tournament for her and what impressed her most was the fact that Zimbabwe only lost 2-0 to South Africa, which was not such a terrible score against such highly fancied opponents.
“At the beginning of this year I thought I would give it one last shot and stand for the national field hockey team for this tournament in Stellenbosch. I just wanted to give it everything I had and feel this was definitely a high as we managed to get a bronze. We also had the best score against South Africa since I started playing, only losing 2-0,’’ Watson said.
She was really pleased with the team’s display throughout the tournament in South Africa where she feels they improved with each match they played.
“It was such an amazing feeling! I was just so happy with how our team performed throughout the tournament as we just got better with every game. Then for me personally to end the way I did it was very special. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end and it was a very proud moment for me.”
Being on target in her final appearance for her country was something special for Watson since the win guaranteed Zimbabwe the bronze.
Not only did she score but she scored twice in Zimbabwe’s 3-2 success over Namibia.
“We knew we had to beat them (Namibia) to come third and we also wanted to finish the tournament on a high.
We started off well and managed to score in the first five minutes with an amazing deflection from Sophie MacDonald off a perfectly timed through ball from Michelle Williams. I then went on to score the next two goals which meant we were up 3-0.
Namibia then came back and scored two goals in the second half. We managed to hold on to the win though with a 3-2 full time score,’’ Watson said.
On what was the main reason for her to retire, Watson, who turns 39 next month, pointed to her age as she feels she could no longer handle the intensity of the international game.
“You cannot continue competing at this level when you get to my age. Although it’s probably the fittest I have been it still takes a lot out of you.
I have enjoyed my time and it’s now someone else’s chance to take my place and represent their country,’’ Watson said.
Married to James Watson, the couple is blessed with two boys. She runs a Playball franchise in Bulawayo where they coach ball skills to youngsters aged two to seven.
Watson plays hockey for Ivy’s Club. She enjoys running and yoga.
While she has retired from the international game, Watson is not lost to the sport since she plans to continue playing club hockey and also hopes to get more involved in coaching at grassroots level. — @Mdawini_29
Bongani Ndlovu