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

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

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. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

. He is the older brother of Kookaburras defender,

Jeremy Hayward Jeremy Thomas Hayward (born 3 March 1993) is an Australian field hockey player. Hayward was part of the Australia men's national field hockey team, Australian team who won the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup. The team defeated the Netherlands men's ...

. His mother, Ellie, is of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

descent.

Career

Domestic leagues

Australian Hockey League

Leon Hayward made his debut in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL) was Australia's premier national domestic field hockey competition.AHL Webpage
D ...

for the NT Stingers during the 2012 tournament in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

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

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

New Zealand National Hockey League

In 2019, Hayward represented the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

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

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

National teams

Australia Under-21

In 2009, Hayward represented the ' Burras' on two occasions; at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and Junior World Cup, winning gold and bronze medals respectively.

Kookaburras

Leon Hayward made his debut for the Kookaburras in 2014, during a test series against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

. His first and only major tournament for Australia was the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia, 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 is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Stratford, New Zealand Stratford () 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 halfway between New P ...

. 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 officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. It also marked his maiden appearance at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. 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, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. It also eventually marked his maiden appearance at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. 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 was 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 was held at the Kalinga Hoc ...

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 job as an accountant at Finnz Chartered Accountants in

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

. Prior to his commitment as an 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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Leon 1990 births Living people Australian male field hockey players New Zealand male field hockey players Male field hockey goalkeepers Olympic field hockey players for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games field hockey players 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 21st-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen