View Sahara WorldHockey Team Rankings - Men
View Sahara WorldHockey Team Rankings - Women

Australia’s victory at the Champions Trophy at the end of 2005 confirmed their status as the premier team in men’s hockey, with the Kookaburras now leading the Sahara WorldHockey Team Rankings by 111 points.

The Olympic champions’ 3-1 defeat of the Netherlands in the tournament decider in late December more than doubled their advantage over their nearest rivals, with the Dutch maintaining second position after a silver medal.

There were no changes to the top six rankings after the completion of the tournament in Chennai, with Germany, Spain, Pakistan and India filling positions 3-6.

With the exception of Germany and Spain (who finished fourth and third respectively in Chennai), the final placings at the Champions Trophy reflected each team’s position on the rankings table.

The next opportunity for teams to improve their position is at the Sahara Hockey Champions Trophy in Terrassa, Spain from 8-16 July this year.

India, however, will have to wait a little longer to add to their points tally, with a last placing in Chennai relegating them from the Champions Trophy field in 2006. Their next chance will arrive at the BDO Hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany, in September-October this year.

In the women’s rankings, Netherlands finished the year in the same manner as the Australian men, reaffirming their place on top of the table with victory at the Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy in Canberra, Australia.

Australia edged up one position to third after a narrow loss in the final, while Argentina kept a hold of second spot despite finishing fourth at the Champions Trophy.

Lower down on the list, Fiji and Tonga have entered the table for the first time after their inaugural participation at the women's Oceania Cup qualifiers in Fiji in November 2005.