Curling: NZ in the playoffs mix

The New Zealand men's team are right in the mix for the playoffs at the world curling championships in Switzerland after wins over Germany and the Czech Republic lifted them to fifth equal in the 12-strong field. They beat Czech Republic 8-5 but staged a dramatic comeback to beat Germany earlier in the day. Down 5-0 after just four ends, New Zealand worked their way back into the contest but needed three points on the 10th end to snatch victory 8-6. "Five-nil wasn't particularly fair, actually," New Zealand skip Peter de Boer said. "I said at half time, 'look guys, we're doing well enough to win this game, we just need to get some stones in play and back ourselves'. Fortunately the whole team played terrific. I think if we just believe in our ability to make the shots, we can make the shots." New Zealand have a four-win, three-loss record after 11 rounds to be level with Norway in fifth and are only one win behind China, Scotland and Sweden in second. Canada are the only undefeated team with seven wins with seven rounds still to play. Teams competing at the world championship earn Olympic qualifying points for their nations and, based on cumulative points earned for their finishes at the 2012 and 2013 men's championships, the top seven countries (host Russia receives an automatic entry), will compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.