Olympic Secrets: The night that GB women put hockey on the map back home

BBC One moved the 10 o'clock news. Nine million people tuned in. They were the number one trend on Twitter. Team GB's women's hockey team made quite an impression at Rio 2016.

What are the untold stories behind that triumph? Four years on, we gathered some of the stars of hockey's 'where were you?' moment to relive that famous night in Rio. Here are some things we learned.

GB were inside the Netherlands players' heads

The Dutch were the gold standard in women's hockey. They were the Olympic champions in 2008 and 2012 and going for their third title in a row. They were the world's number one side and reigning world champions. And yet, the signs throughout suggested they weren't totally confident of overcoming Danny Kerry's team.

"When we were waiting in that line-up in the tunnel, the Dutch started shouting and screaming and doing high fives and hitting their sticks on the wall." says Helen Richardson-Walsh. "I was looking across thinking 'that's not what they do'. I felt like they were nervous. They know they've got a game on here."

When the game went into that now-famous shootout after a 3-3 draw in normal time, those signs of pre-match nerves were reinforced.

"When the final whistle went, our body language and theirs were complete opposites." says Hollie Pearne-Webb, who netted the decisive goal in the shootout.

"I looked over and they were stood hands on their knees, heads down. Everything was saying we would win it. We were ready."

That sense of dread may have come from England's shootout win over the Dutch in the final of the 2015 European Championships. Whatever the reason, the body language was telling.

Helen Richardson-Walsh nearly didn't play in the final

She played a pivotal role in the shootout, slotting home a penalty stroke under immense pressure, but Helen Richardson-Walsh nearly didn't play at all.

"I pulled my hamstring in the semi-final and it was really touch and go," she says.

"I had to do a fitness test on the morning of the final; I still didn't know if I would play. I wanted to be out there and I felt I could do a job, but I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"When I was warming up I was thinking about my injury and not the game. So I didn't really have any nerves, which was a good thing for me. I didn't feel like I contributed as well as I would have liked but I did a job. I just kept trying to get in the way and thankfully I scored in the shootout."

You shouldn't make Helen angry

Talking of that penalty stroke: As Helen Richardson-Walsh stepped up to take it, there was a crescendo of jeers from the largely Dutch-supporting crowd. For hockey that is highly unusual. Most crowds cheer when a goal goes in and applaud politely when someone does something good. The rest of the time there is just a hum of noise and not much else. Richardson-Walsh wasn't put off, though.

"I knew that all my team-mates wanted me to take it but when I walked up that's when I heard them booing, and it made me so mad," she says. "Emotion for me in these moments is good. I'm better when I'm a bit angry. You can tell how I felt by the way I celebrated."

Doing your homework pays off

Maddie Hinch's 'little black book' with details on each of the Dutch players' shootout plans is now the stuff of legend. The planning and practice for this moment had been done weeks ahead of time.

Hinch explains: "Under pressure, nine times out of 10, people revert to their strengths, so I had to trust that was what they were going to do. Credit to them if they go against that and take a little bit of a risk. I'd watched all the video I could. I knew what each of them preferred to do. I was ready and just looking forward to it. These are the moments you train for. You shouldn't fear it. It's just like an exam: If you've done your homework, there's no need to panic."

See? It's not just something your teachers used to say to you to get you to do something. It's true.

Pearne-Webb decided she'd practised enough

The training session before the final saw some of Great Britain's players opted to practise their shootouts one last time. With the Dutch training on the adjacent pitch, Pearne-Webb decided against joining them.

"We'd practised them so much at home, we'd spoken about the mental processes and I just thought at that point I didn't need to. The Dutch were across there too, watching. I didn't need the additional worry of whether they saw me or not, so I left it. I'm glad I did."

With the title on the line, up she stepped and calmly slotted in the winner to clinch the gold medal.

Kate Richardson-Walsh and being 'summoned to see the headmaster'

It's reassuring to know that even Olympic gold medallists get that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach when someone in authority asks for a "quick word".

The morning after the gold medal win, Richardson-Walsh was asked to be Team GB's flag bearer in the closing ceremony. However, with a fuzzy head after a night of celebrating, that was the furthest thing from her mind when the chef de mission Mark England broke the news to her.

"We had quite a wild night out and there was a knock at the door in the morning. I opened the door and it was carnage. There were McDonald's wrappers and kit everywhere.

"There was a lady there from the BOA and I immediately thought something terrible had happened. I was running through all the scenarios in my head, wondering what it could be. The chef de mission sat me down and he was dead serious and he said: 'We'd like you to carry the flag for the closing ceremony.'

"I just burst out crying. It was an amazing honour. It was really special."

Tears of joy or tears of relief? It makes you wonder what happened on that night out that caused her to worry so much...