Ireland Masters representative Stuart Egner will be player/coach for the Munster O40 and O45 sides at the Masters Interpros this weekend. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Although the staging of the tournament in Ulster proved prohibitive in terms of player availability, the efforts of manager Mark Stockil and coach Stuart Egner have borne fruit with the province set to compete at the O40 and O45 men’s levels.

Many players are set to double up for the weekend, but players have come from near and far – there are representatives based in Reading, Galway and Athlone in the panels – to don the red shirt this weekend.

The squads participated in two friendly games against the Munster U18 boys in April and May, which finished in a 2-2 draw and a 6-5 victory as both sides attempted different combinations.

The O45s squad is captained by former Irish international Ger Burns of Bandon, while another decorated player, Alan Bateman of Cork Harlequins, will head up the )40 side’s efforts.

MUNSTER Masters Squads for 2012 Masters Interpros, Lisnagarvey, May 19-20

O45s: Stuart Egner (Cork Harlequins), Fergus Stapleton (Reading), Dermot Kelleher (Ashton), Dave Coulter (Cork C of I), Ivan Coombes (Cork C of I), Ollie O’Connor (Catholic Institute), Ger Burns (Bandon, capt), Dermot Judge (Cork C of I), Martin White (GK, Galway), Mark Stockil (Ashton), Brian Rasmussen (Athlone), Dara Crowe (Catholic Institute), Donal Holland (Ashton), Paul Kingston (Bandon).

O40s: Stuart Egner (Cork Harlequins), Dermot Kelleher (Ashton), Ollie O’Connor (Catholic Institute), Ger Burns (Bandon), Mark Stockil (Ashton), Dara Crowe (Catholic Institute), Donal Holland (Ashton), Paul Kingston (Bandon), Ivan Bateman (Cork Harlequins), Richie O’Dell (Belvedere), John Wallace (Catholic Institute), George Blackwell (Limerick), Harry Russell (Cork Harlequins), Allen Wilson (Cork C of I), Ivan Moore (Catholic Institute), Alan Bateman (Cork Harlequins, capt), Dermot Conway (Ashton), John Geary (Catholic Institute).

On the women’s side, the blues could afford to draw – or even lose by a couple as it transpired – but they never looked like needing any recourse to such an outcome.

Munster were unable to build on their opening day win Pic: Adrian Boehm

Early efforts from Gillian Pinder and Eanna Horan put the women 2-0 up inside six minutes and, with Caroline Hill, supplying an insurance effort prior to half-time, they were handsome three goal winners.

It left Munster a chance to snatch second place but they came unstuck against Connacht as they could not build on Emily O’Leary’s early opener.

NUIG’s Aimee O’Connor levelled in the 12th minute before Tara Melvin and Deirdre Hatton put the westerners 3-1 up by half-time and no further goals ensured Ulster took second place.

On the men’s side, despite international absentees, Leinster repeated the feat of 2010 with a 3-2 win against Ulster. Injury to Richard Sykes and a flight to Germany to link up with the men’s senior Irish team ruled out Shane O’Donoghue but they still managed to prevail in a cracker.

They went two up through Jamie Tobin and Stephen Cole before being pegged back by Banbridge duo Owen Magee and Stephen Dowds, but the blues’ David Watkins hit a late winner.

It meant they won the Interpro series with a perfect two from two record while they also snagged the four-team series which included the Ireland U-18s.

Graham Shaw and Gareth Evans’ charges won their third tie to end the competition unbeaten as they beat Munster 5-2 – Ashton schoolboy Gary Wilkinson scoring against his home province in the second half after Pembroke team mates Karl Lynch and Mark Loughrey had exchanged first half goals.

Cork man Jonny Bruton, meanwhile, scored on his return to the Irish men’s national team but it was not enough to stop Paul Revington’s side from falling to a 3-2 defeat to world number two side Germany in Mannheim.

In their first international since dramatically being denied an Olympic berth by Korea in March, Revington made eight changes with St Andrew’s College student David Cole making his debut.

Bruton opened the scoring just past the half hour on his reverse but Matthias Witthaus responded with a corner rebound off the post before Thilo Stralkowski and Jan-Philipp Rabente moved the hosts 3-1 clear with 12 minutes to go.

Jonny Bruton scored on his return to the Irish senior side Pic: Adrian Boehm

Ian Sloan got a late second for Ireland but could not affect a result in a tie in which both sides were under-strength due to players required elsewhere, notably at the European Hockey League quarter-finals.

Ireland play again today, this time against the Germany U21 side at 3pm before taking on the senior squad again on Wednesday at 2pm.

Ireland: D Fitzgerald, K Carroll, J Jackson, R Gormley, J Bruton, P Caruth, I Sloan, B McCandless, T Cockram, D Ames, P Gleghorne
Subs: B Doherty, P Maguire, J Bell, J Lynch, D Cole

U21 Interprovincials, Cork – day three
Men:
Leinster 3 (J Tobin, S Cole, D Watkins) Ulster 2 (O Magee, S Dowds);
Ireland U18 5 (M Loughrey, G Wilkinson, M Allister, J Sutton, J Duncan) Munster 2 (K Lynch, F O’Leary)
Interpro standings: 1 Leinster 6pts (+2); 2 Ulster 3pts (+1); 3 Munster 0pts
Tournament standings: 1 Leinster 7pts (+2) 2 Ireland U18 5pts (+3) 3 Ulster 4pts (+1) 4 Munster 0pts (-6)

Women:
Leinster 3 (G Pinder, E Horan, C Hill) Ulster 0;
Munster 1 (E O’Leary) Connacht 3 (A O’Connor, T Melvin, D Hatton)
Standings: 1 Leinster 9pts (+11); 2 Ulster 3pts (-1); 3 Munster 3pts (-2); 4 Connacht 3pts (-8).

Men’s Senior International, Mannheim
Ireland 2 (J Bruton, I Sloan) Germany 3 (M Witthaus, T Stralkowski, J-P Rabente)

The hosts had beaten Ulster 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a strike from birthday girl Rebecca Barry amid a stout rearguard action which was repeated against a Leinster side who won a slew of corners.

Niamh Atcheler finally put Leinster in front midway through the second half when a short corner hit was half-stopped and the Irish international poked the ball over the line as it spun invitingly.

Munster captain Adam O'Callaghan challenges Leinster's Jamie Tobin at the U21 Interpros at Garryduff, Cork. PIcture: Adrian Boehm

Having seen his side offer little in attack, Munster coach Paidi Hartnett made some novel positional changes, pushing defenders Amy Kate Trevor and Yvonne O’Byrne into midfield and attack respectively with Julie Coyne and Nicola Laarhoven taking over at the back.

And it paid dividends on 62 minutes when O’Byrne saw her shot – Munster’s first meaningful one of the game – creep in at the near post for 1-1.

Had it stayed like that, Munster would have been favourites to go on and win the tournament. But after Amy Kate Trevor had taken Nicola Gray’s corner bullet off the line, but Leinster worked the ball around the circle and but Mulcahy – a two-goal hero for Leinster against Connacht on Saturday – slammed home a to give her side victory.

That leaves the blues needing just a draw against Ulster today to take the title. Should Ulster prevail, Munster come back into the reckoning but they will need a landslide win over Connacht to stand any chance of overturning Leinster’s superior goal difference.

Meanwhile, Shane O’Donoghue’s absence from the Leinster side will be a major factor as they do battle with Ulster tomorrow for the men’s U21 title.

The UCD hitman was a goalscorer in his side’s 2-1 win over Munster yesterday, but is required for Ireland duty in Germany and will miss the winner-takes-all showdown against the northerners.

Neil Welch’s Munster men were again left to rue a malfunctioning short corner unit while they didn’t get the rub of the green from the officials for the second consecutive game.

Having failed to take a ton of chances in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Ulster, they were more clinical early on as Fionn O’Leary finished off a sweet breakaway with a trademark reverse finish for a 1-0 lead.

But that was pegged back in jig-time by O’Donoghue’s deflection, and with Munster’s second-half efforts hampered by yellow cards to UCD pair Nick Burns and Ben Dobson in quick succession, they were eventually undone 13 minutes from time.

Brian Corcoran had again made a number of good saves but he couldn’t get to Peter English’s drag-flick which puts Leinster in with a good shout of retaining their crown.

They’ll play their final game against an Ireland U18 side who still have a faint chance of taking the overall honours after drawing 2-2 with Ulster.

As had been the case in Saturday’s 1-1 tie with Leinster, the boys in green got the go-ahead goals before eventually being pegged back, though it could have been a better result had Jeremy Duncan not sent a penalty stroke wide.

Bandon’s Scott Sullivan gave coach Graham Shaw a neat reminder of his talents by scoring the opening Ireland goal, a superb solo effort which saw him skin two defenders before drawing out goalkeeper Alastair Thom and reversing under him to score.

Stephen Dowds wiped that out with a drag-flick only for Ben Cosgrave to put Ireland ahead again on 51 minutes, but Dowds again did the necessary from a corner to keep Ulster’s hat in the ring ahead of today’s exchanges.

U21 Interprovincials, Cork, Day 2

Men

Ireland U18 2 (S Sullivan, B Cosgrave) Ulster 2 (S Dowds 2);

Munster 1 (F O’Leary) Leinster  2 (S O’Donoghue, P English);

Standings: 1 Ulster 4pts (+2); 2 Leinster 4pts (+1); 3 Ireland U18 2pts (0); 4 Munster 0pts (-3).

Today: Ulster v Leinster (11.30pm); Munster v Ireland U18, 1.30pm.

Women

Ulster 3 (K McDonald 2, D Axon) Connacht 0;

Munster 1 (Y O’Byrne) Leinster 2 (N Atcheler, H Mulcahy);

Standings:  1 Leinster 6pts (+8); 2 Ulster 3pts (+2); 3 Munster 3pts (0); 4 Connacht 0pts (-10).

Today: Ulster v Leinster, 9.30am; Munster v Connacht, 3.30pm.

The Catholic Institute and Richmond Spiders star battered Munster’s first set-piece to the bottom corner on 16 minutes for an early lead that Paidi Hartnett’s hosts never relinquished.

All of their best chances thereafter fell to UCC’s Aine Curran, but she mishit three of her shots when well-placed while Naomi Carroll had the ball in the net in the second half, but it was chalked off for a foot in the build-up.

Despite sterling showings from Kirsty Lammey, Kerri McDonald, Sarah McClure and Leah Ewart, Ulster’s short corners went awry all day and they couldn’t find a way through as Munster put in a superb defensive performance, led by Roisin Upton, Yvonne O’Byrne, Rosie Shanahan, Kate Murphy and Amy Kate Trevor.

Ireland U18's Scott Sullivan challenges Leinster U21's Richard Sykes. Picture: Andrew Gray

The hosts did put themselves under unnecessary pressure in the final quarter, however. Centre-backs Trevor and Shanahan were each caught out as Ulster moved to an aggressive full press, while Curran took yellow on 65 minutes to leave her side short for the final five.

But they held out to record an important win that leaves them in second place after day one, following Leinster’s 7-0 dismissal of Connacht.

Hayley Mulcahy gave them a 2nd-minute lead but they had to work hard to put the game to bed before letting loose in the final quarter.

Deirdre Duke got the all-important second on 45 minutes before Leinster’s short corner specialists took over, Eanna Horan and Nicola Gray bashing home to put the result beyond doubt by 58 minutes.

Mulcahy and Gray both completed their braces in the final 10 minutes, sandwiching an Erika Hinkson effort, as the blues put themselves in prime position to defend their title.

Meanwhile, it’s advantage Ulster in the men’s competition as their greater composure in the circle helped them see off Munster 2-0, while Leinster were held to a 1-1 draw by the Irish U18s.

Neil Welch’s Munster will lament their lack of ruthlessness as they dominated the northerners for long periods and crafted some gilt-edged opportunities, but they were another side left to rue a misfiring corner routine.

Owen Magee put Ulster in front on five minutes when he snapped up a reverse after the ball went loose in the Munster circle, but it was a tight game thereafter.

Goalkeeper Brian Corcoran saved well on a number of occasions while Ben Dobson had a fruitful day charging down Stephen Dowds’ drag-flicks, and skipper Adam O’Callaghan had a super outing in both defence and attack, taking one drag off the line.

At the other end, Nick Burns saw one drag blocked while another sailed wide, but Munster’s best opportunities came in a second half they dominated.

Rosie Shanahan (right) put in a superb defensive performance for Munster in their 1-0 win over Ulster. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Problem was they were two down at that stage, as Mark Crooks did superbly to collect a Corcoran kick at full pelt and shinpad height, then engineer the room to reverse to the far bottom corner on 46 minutes.

Karl Lynch, influential all day for the hosts, turned Ulster over in the press and surged into the D but chose to pass across goal from close range with no Munster stick on the end of it.

Lynch then played in Shrew Power, who took out Ulster goalkeeper Alistair Thom but a diving Fionn O’Leary just missed the touch required into the unguarded goal.

And it was deja-vu a couple of minutes later as Power flicked at Thom and the rebound fell to O’Leary, but the normally clinical UCC man fresh-aired when well-placed to score.

A slew of late corners, coming off the excellent Peter Catchpole’s trickery, failed to yield a goal for Munster who will have to come up with some new routines over the rest of the weekend to make their opportunities count.

Meanwhile, Leinster were thankful to Jamie Tobin as the YMCA man’s equaliser got them out of trouble in the second half against Graham Shaw’s Ireland U18s, for whom Kilkenny College man Jeremy Duncan had snaffled an opener.

The Irish were very comfortable on the ball throughout – boding well for their Home Nations campaign in the summer – with superb performances from skipper Matthew Rollins and Kirk Shimmins in particular.

U21 Interpros, Day 1

Men

Leinster U21 1 (Jamie Tobin) Ireland U18 1 (Jeremy Duncan)

Munster U21 0 Ulster U21 2 (Owen Magee, Mark Crooks);

Women

Leinster U21 7 (Hayley Mulcahy 2, Nicola Gray 2, Deirdre Duke, Erika Hinkson, Eanna Horan) Connacht U21 0

Munster U21 1 (Rebecca Barry) Ulster U21 0.

UCD hitman O’Donoghue will play two rounds of the U21 tournament at Garryduff in Cork for Leinster before jetting to Mannheimer for three back-to-back matches for an experimental Ireland side against their German hosts.

The games see Ireland begin life after the Olympic qualification near miss, and serve as the start of a warm-up programme for the summer, which sees  Lisnagarvey play host to the senior men’s and women’s Celtic Cup in late June and early July.

Brian Corcoran is back between the sticks for Munster U21s as the tournament returns following a one-year hiatus. Picture: Adrian Boehm

It’s also a potentially busy few days for Chris Cargo, David Ames and Ronan Gormley, who are all in Rotterdam today for the KO16 round of the EHL.

Ames’ Beeston meet Gormley’s Club de Campo in the competition early this  morning, meaning at least one will be required for the KO8 round on Sunday when the Irish side is convening across the German border.

Cargo’s Reading are in action in the KO16 tomorrow evening and progression against Club an der Alster would more than likely rule him out of the first game of the Irish series, the EHL quarter-final clashing directly.

The return of the U21 interpros after a season’s hiatus reflects the Irish Hockey Association’s decision to field a national side at the grade this summer for the first time since 2004.

Graham Shaw’s Ireland U18 boys — featuring Munster men Scott Sullivan (Bandon) and Gary Wilkinson (Cork C of I) will step into the men’s tournament to make it a quadrangular event like the women’s, given Connacht do not field a men’s side at this level.

Munster’s men are back-boned by  UCC’s  Irish Hockey Trophy-winning side last weekend, including captain Adam O’Callaghan, while Dublin-based trio Karl Lynch (Pembroke), Nick Burns and Ben Dobson (both UCD) bring Leinster league experience.

Hopes of home glory on the women’s side have been boosted by the return of captain Olivia Roycroft (UCC) from a broken collarbone, while potential stars have returned from foreign fields to don the red of Munster, namely former Ireland U18 pair Rebecca Barry (America) and Nicola Laarhoven (Holland).

There’s also sure to be some extra bite in the Munster-Leinster clashes for two players in particular; UCC’s Colin Manning and Aine Curran are both Kilkenny natives but like the Connery sisters before them, will line out for Munster against their native province.

Leinster are the defending champions in both competitions, dating back to their victories at the 2010 vintage in Dublin.

Men’s U21 Interprovincials, Garryduff, Cork

Tomorrow: Leinster v Ireland U18, 10am; Munster v Ulster, 2pm; Sunday: Ulster v Ireland U18, 10am; Munster v Leinster, 12pm. Monday: Ulster v Leinster (11.30pm); Munster v Ireland U18, 1.30pm.

MUNSTER U21:  B Corcoran (GK), A O’Callaghan (capt), A Power, C Manning, S O’Grady, F O’Leary, P Catchpole, C Kavanagh (UCC), R Lynch, A Daunt, R Sweetnam, J Phillips (GK), P Daunt (Cork C of I), K Lynch (Pembroke), N Burns, B Dobson (UCD), A Scannell (Bandon).

LEINSTER U21: S West (GK, TRR); C Quinn, P Byrne, S O’Donoghue, R Burke, L Chadwick, R Anderson, D Watkins (UCD); R Sykes, S Cole, F Ryan (Monkstown); J Tobin (YMCA); S McKeever (Fingal); D Carson (Corinthian); P English (Railway Union); S Ludgate (Clontarf); S Roberts, S Nolan (Trinity).

ULSTER U21: A Thom (GK), R Miller, M Crooks (Cookstown), M Bell, P Brown, S Dowds, S Forbes, O Magee (Banbridge), N Gilmore, J Wright (Portadown), S Hunter (Loughborough Students), A McCann (Lisnagarvey), M Murphy (Durham Uni), P Purcell (capt), A Williamson (Annadale), J Robinson (Mossley).

IRELAND U18: A Allen (Friends School/Lisnagarvey), M Allister (Sullivan/Annadale), P Brown (Banbridge Academy/Banbridge), C Roberts (Sullivan/Annadale), L Cole (St Andrews/Monkstown), B Cosgrove (Banbridge Academy/Banbridge), J Duncan (Kilkenny College/Railway Union), S Gallagher (GK, Newpark/Avoca), J Hool (GK, RBAI/Mossley), R
Nair (St Andrew’s/Railway Union), M Robson (Sullivan/Annadale), M Rollins (Cookstown HS/Cookstown), K Shimmins (Wesley College/Pembroke Wanderers), S Sullivan (Bandon Grammar/Bandon), J Sutton (Wesley College/Corinthian), G Wilkinson (Ashton/Cork C of I), M Loughrey (St Andrew’s/Pembroke Wanderers).

Women’s U21 Interpros, Garryduff, Cork

Tomorrow: Leinster v Connacht, 12pm; Munster v Ulster, 4pm; Sunday: Ulster v Connacht, 2pm; Munster v Leinster, 4pm; Monday: Ulster v Leinster, 9.30pm; Munster v Connacht (3.30pm).

MUNSTER U21: C Hayes (GK, Bandon); R Barry, K Campbell, N Carroll, R Upton (Catholic Institute), O Cotter, Y O’Byrne (Cork Harlequins), J Coyne, O Roycroft (capt), A Curran, N Kerr, K Murphy, E O’Leary, S Peters (GK), A-K Trevor (UCC), E Reidy (Cork C of I), R Shanahan (NUIG), N Laarhoven (Almeerse).

LEINSTER U21:  N O’Connor (Genesis); G Pinder (Hermes); H Matthews, A Meeke, S McGirr, H Mulcahy (Loreto); E Hinkson (Old Alex); S Conway, A O’Grady (Pembroke); O Fox, R Barnett (Railway Union); E Horan, V Taaffe (Trinity); S Greene, N Gray, C Hill, D Duke, N Atcheler (UCD).

ULSTER U21: SJ Greer (GK, Leeds), N McKnight (Ards), N Barr, S McClure, L Murray, K Scott  (Lurgan), C Warnock, K McDonald (Armagh), S Rose (Nottingham Uni), J Alison, J Orr (QUB), L Ewart (UCD), K Lammey, D Axon (Ulster Elks), H Dawson (Belfast Harlequins), E Reid (Randalstown).

CONNACHT U21: E Molloy (GK), H Jenkinson, R Butler, R McInerney, A Rossiter, A O’Connor, O Callanan, N Whelan (NUIG), N Cooke (GK), T Melvin, F Timmins, L Fahy, E Carey, R Bradley, D Hatton (Galway), B Flannery (capt), J McMickan (UCD), K Codyre (Hermes).

IRELAND senior men’s squad v Germany, Mannherimer, April 8-11:  D Ames (Beeston), J Bell (Lisnagarvey), J Bruton (YMCA), C Cargo (Reading), D Carlisle (Banbridge), K Carroll (Railway Union), P Caruth (Annadale), T Cockram (Lisnagarvey), D Cole (Monkstown), B Doherty (Beerschot), DFitzgerald (GK, Monkstown), P Gleghorne (Instonians), R Gormley (Club De Campo), I Hughes (GK, Cookstown), J Jackson (Braxgata), J Lynch (unattached), P Maguire (Hurley), B McCandless (Banbridge), S O’Donoghue (UCD), I Sloan (Cookstown).

Schedule: Monday: Ireland versus Germany (senior), 3pm; Tuesday: Ireland versus Germany (U21), 3pm;  Wednesday: Ireland versus Germany (senior), 2pm.

This year’s championships were scrapped as the provinces argued the cost of the competition would be too high in a year when Ireland is hosting an Olympic qualifier, splitting potential crowds and player availability.

The move was taken to “reflect the international cycle of competition and development” with a view to being part of the selection process for the national teams.

A revamp of the junior interpros – also scrapped for the 2011/12 season – will be introduced next season with a view to helping Connacht become more competitive while Masters interpros will be introduced for Over-40s, 45s and 50s age categories.

The first running of this event will take place in Ulster in May. The re-introduced U21  interprovincial series, set for the Easter weekend in Cork, is unaffected by the latest board decisions.

The staging of all interprovincials will revert back to a rotational basis between the provinces, ending the unpopular centralised tournaments in Dublin.

Alex Burns in action for Munster at the U16 interpros. There has been an 8% increase in the number of U16 boys playing the game in the province. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Although these figures also include two boys’ clubs in Connacht – as they play in Munster leagues – the news that there are now 440 U16 male players is welcome as the figures recover from a drop-off of 13% the previous season.

An 8% growth was also recorded in girls numbers, with the number of U16 female players now just below 2,000.

By comparison, however, boys’ numbers in Leinster are up 13% to 1,028, with the girls’ figures showing a 14% increase.

In his report on 2011 in Munster and Connacht, the IHA’s western regional development officer Phil Oakley said much of the growth has come on the back of targeted programmes such as Tricks 4 Sticks and club-school link taster sessions for boys.

“Whilst many of the girls clubs within the province are close to capacity, there is still significant potential for new boys to join clubs and much of the focus of development activity will continue to be directed toward boys’ hockey during 2012,” Oakley said.

“The Western RDO was given a target of 10% increase in the boys’ game for this year, with 6 of 10 clubs showing increases, 2 remaining static and 2 clubs showing a decrease in their numbers. Targeted taster sessions are currently being scheduled with these clubs in local primary schools to address the shortfall in these clubs.”

The news  comes just over a year after a think-in was held in Mallow outlining the problems facing boys hockey in Munster, and ahead of a planned ‘Taste of Hockey’ session in Cork later this month, a one-day initiative at the Mardyke on February 22nd.

Driven by the Munster Branch of the IHA (MBIHA) with the IHA WRDO’s help, it will see UCC hockey scholarships students introduce some 300 schoolboys from the third and fourth classes of five city primary schools to the game on February 22.

Further key indicators reveal that the state of the game in Munster is relatively static with room for improvement.

There are still just five schools playing boys hockey in Munster, albeit with work currently being undertaken to support a school in Limerick joining the Munster Branch. Girls’ schools in Munster have seen an increase from 30 playing schools to 31.

Senior women’s club teams have declined from 50 to 48 this season, while the men’s are down from 26 to 23, though that figure his since risen to 24 with UCC introducing a fourth team last month.

“The strategy with regard to building adult figures has always been to build from the ground up, which is why there is an emphasis on the youth side of the sport,” explained Oakley.

IHA western regional development officer Phil Oakley: Drop-off from U12 to U14 is one of major issues.

“Although there is a decrease in the ladies figures in 2011/2012, there has been growth in the women’s club game between 2008 and 2011. With the growth of the girls’ game, it is expected that the figures will bounce back in the future.

“The same approach is being taken in relation to the men’s game. The major positive of this year has been an increase in the number of boys playing club hockey. Although there will be a time lag in terms of knock on effect for the men’s game, this is expected to bolster the numbers.”

In real terms, for every senior female player in Munster and Connacht, there are 3.4 underage players, whilst on the men’s side that figure is 1.4 players. Much of Oakley’s focus will continue to be on the boys’ game in 2012, with March’s men’s Olympic qualification tournament seen as a significant opportunity to promote the sport.

There are plans to increase the number of clubs running boys’ taster sessions in their local primary schools, with an aim for a 5% increase in club numbers for 2012.

“One of the major issues within the boys’ game is a drop off from U12 to U14 and (I) have been working with the Munster Branch to create boys’ U14 development squads both to support the retention of players in the sport, but also as a tool to educate coaches to improve the quality of coaching within clubs,” added Oakley.

“Along with this, it is planned to increase the number of competitive opportunities for underage players to play more games in both schools and clubs, as this will also aid retention of players.”

Tricks 4 Sticks will continue to target certain areas on the girls’ side of the sport, “especially where new clubs can be formed or existing clubs are looking to increase their numbers”. It is planned to introduce at least one new girls’ underage club in 2012.

The IHA yesterday stressed the decision “has largely been driven by the (provincial) branches, who feel that in a year with Olympic qualifiers, the inability to field full squads puts the cost and associated benefits of the events in doubt”.

The national body’s competitions and interprovincial working groups have been asked to review the staging of the senior and junior tournaments for future years in conjunction with national coaches Paul Revington and Gene Muller, and high performance director David Passmore.

Vanessa Sargent, Rachel McSharry, Olivia Roycroft, Ali O'Regan, Yvonne O'Byrne and Sinead Connery celebrate Munster's senior interpros win in May. They will now have a chance to defend their title until 2013 at the earliest. Picture: Pat Sargent

The staging of the U21 interprovincials, currently scheduled for Easter having been scrapped last season in a cost-saving measure, is to be reviewed “as a matter of urgency”.

The IHA board say they are keen for this tournament to take place to facilitate preparation and selection of the U21 national teams, which were re-established in October having been discontinued in 2004.

IHA chief executive Angus Kirkland yesterday said: “The IHA has consulted widely on the challenges of scheduling all hockey this season.

“The board considered carefully the opinions of the branches and have agreed that the best decision for hockey this season is not to not hold these tournaments.”

Detractors argue that the intensification and expansion of the Irish national setups to include more sessions and development panels has rendered the interpros – first played out in 1897 and once a treasured chance to see all the country’s top players lock horns at once – irrelevant.

Aside from Olympic commitments, the presence of current internationals in interpro tournaments has dwindled in recent years, with the senior women focused on their central preparation programme (CPP) while the majority of the men’s side play the sport semi-professionally abroad.

The junior interpros does not feed into any national representative side, but remains a popular outlet for non-elite players to aim for provincial honours, although Connacht were unable to field a side in the 2011 men’s tournament.

14-year-old Julian Dale’s four goals highlighted a promising campaign for an U16 side that was picked with the future in mind and has a majority returning next year, while the U18′s amazing win over Ulster on the final day – which ultimately denied the northern province glory – will live long in the memory.

John Hobbs’ U16s put a spanner in the works early on during opening night, amazingly leading Ulster 2-0 inside the first five minutes. Dale had bullied his way through to force home the first before roofing a lightning drag-flick for number two, shell-shocking an Ulster side who had earlier lost by a goal to Leinster.

The rest of the half belonged to Midleton College goalkeeper Jack Ryan; just 14 and coming from a GAA background, he made a huge impression on the hockey fraternity with a series of top-class, point-blank saves to keep Munster in front at the break, with Alex Deane and Colin Kingston constructing a teak-tough barrier in front of him.

The loss of Kingston with an eye injury which prematurely ended his tournament didn’t help Munster, and the floodgates opened in the second half, Matthew Sullivan and Jack Henderson on the mark to level it before Andrew Smyth put Ulster in front with six minutes to go.

Munster nonetheles came agonisingly close to stealing an equaliser with the game’s final play, Dale rattling the crossbar with another ripping drag, but Ulster held on for a 3-2 win that would ultimately prove crucial.

The reds paid the price for Friday’s efforts, in losing 6-0 to Leinster on Saturday morning, while Sunday saw them fall behind to Ulster but rattle Ricky Lee’s troops in a rousing game of chase, with Dale, Philip Brownlow and David Cardy on target in a 6-3 loss.

That left Leinster needing a win and the requisite goal difference in their final match against Munster to notch a fifth title in six years, and they duly produced a 4-1 victory, with Dale notching the consolation via another crashing drag-flick.

For the U18s, it was a tournament of contrasting styles and fortunes, as they made life hell for Ulster but played right into a counter-attacking Leinster’s hands.

On Friday, Ulster led through James Lorimer’s goal in a nip and tuck game, but Munster were bossing the second half and saw the game turn on a crucial two-goal swing 10 minutes from full time.

Munster finally engineered the room on the right for David Treacy to crash a perfect ball to the back post, but the usually clinical Gary Wilkinson mistimed his connection, the ball hitting his foot before he could convert.

Ulster immediately careered downfield and the pacy Matthew Allister blasted home a classy second from a tight angle, before Andy Allen added an insurance goal later on as Munster’s heads dropped, flicking home a corner.

That left Munster needing a positive result against Leinster on day two to stay in contention.

But instead they played into Rory O’Donoghue’s side’s hands, turning over oceans of ball in dangerous positions and seeing the hosts run riot, clinically converting 14 circle entries into nine goals in a 9-1 rout, Ben Scott sweeping home Munster’s reply off a rare crash ball.

The result was all too reminiscent of similarly one-sided games a year earlier, but the U18s had continued to play positively throughout, a trait which finally yielded deserved dividends on Sunday morning in a hugely memorable game against Ulster.

The northerners had beaten and drawn with Leinster, meaning they needed just a draw against Munster to secure overall victory. Led superbly from the back by skipper Matthew Rollins, they did everything within their power to get the goals that mattered, but found Daniel Moore an immovable object in the Munster goal.

One amazing double save, which saw the Midleton College man thwart a corner strike before jumping off the ground to tip the flicked follow-up effort onto the crossbar with his stick, characterised an amazing rearguard effort in which Andrew Colton and Richard Sweetnam also shone.

Forays into the Ulster 25 were rare for Munster, but the pacy Nathan Eacrett found some space with 13 minutes to go and was barrelled over in the circle, earning Munster’s first and only corner.

Having survived more than a half dozen Ulster corners, Munster made theirs count in style as Colton accurately dragged home at mid-height to Michael Anderson’s stick side for a go-ahead goal against the run of play.

That sparked a huge effort from Ulster to earn the draw they needed, culminating in a final act which saw Fred McElroy get his body in the way of two successive goal-bound shots before the inevitable penalty stroke was awarded.

Ben Cosgrave stepped up with 10 seconds to go, and although Moore guessed right, diving low to his right, he wasn’t needed as the ball agonisingly struck the outside of the upright and went out of play, sparking wild celebrations in the Munster camp which continued when the final hooter went seconds later.

Drained by those efforts but nonetheless hopeful of spoiling Leinster’s hopes of notching the three points required to win the tournament, and break Ulster’s three-year winning streak, Munster again were left to rue a number of sloppy turnovers against a side who were rampant on the counter-attack in a 9-2 win.

Jordan Sutton got Leinster off to a flier against a flagging Munster, before Jonathan Roberts rebounded after Jeremy Duncan broke through and David Cole dragged in a third to ease any nerves.

Sutton added another pair while Cole got his second to copper-fasten the victory in the second half before Nathan Eacrett and David Whitaker got consolation goals in a 9-2 final result. Eacrett profited from Alex Simonin’s persistence, before creating the space to beat Cole despite moving away from goal before firing home a low shot.

Whitaker – who was just nine days out from being eligible for the U16 side – rattled home a mid-height drag-flick and saw two more taken off the line, while Marc Hornibrook was unlucky to see his touch goalward at a stretch go the wrong side of the upright, after Eacrett had eliminated the goalkeeper on a breakaway. At the other end, Newtown’s Sam Butler performed miracles in preventing three certain goals with a series of instinctive goal-line clearances.

It led to the unlikeliest of interpro doubles for Leinster, who had looked out of it in both competitions by the end of Saturday’s play, only for Munster to intervene in their favour.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Southern Fried Hockey had a vested interest in this tournament, with this writer acting as manager of the Munster U18s. I have attempted to write this account as neutrally as possible in the circumstances, while also focusing primarily on the Munster sides as is generally consistent with the site’s readership.

** Adrian Boehm took nearly 200 high quality pictures from the weekend’s action at St Andrew’s; you can see all of them on The Irish Hockey Photographers website

U-18 Interprovincials: Ulster 0 Munster 1 (Andrew Colton); Leinster 9 (Ross Canning 3, David Cole 2, Jonathan Roberts 2, Lee Cole, Ian Stewart) Munster 1 (Ben Scott); Leinster 1 (Ross Canning) Ulster 1 (Adam Fallis); Leinster 9 (Jordan Sutton 3, David Cole 2, Jonathan Roberts 2, Ian Stewart, Brian O’Malley) Munster 2 (Nathan Eacrett, David Whitaker); Leinster 2 (Kirk Shimmins, Ross Canning) Ulster 3 (Matthew Allister 2, James Cox); Ulster 3 (James Lorimer, Matthew Allister, Andy Allen) Munster 0.

Final standings: 1. Leinster 8pts (+14) 2. Ulster 8pts (+3) 3. Munster 3pts (-17)

U-16 Interprovincials (day two and three results): Leinster 4 (Luke Madeley 2, Jack Ryan 2) Munster 1 (Julian Dale); Ulster 6 (Matthew Sullivan 2, Chris Heath 2, Jack Wilson, Adam Marshall) Munster 3 (Julian Dale, David Cardy, Philip Brownlow); Leinster 0 Ulster 2 (Rowan Poots, Matthew Sullivan); Leinster 6 (Freddie Morris 2, Luke Madeley 2, Jack Ryan, Neil Byrne) Munster 0; Leinster 1 (Jack Ryan) Ulster 0; Ulster 3 (Matthew Sullivan, Jack Henderson, Andrew Smyth) Munster 2 (Julian Dale 2)

Final standings: 1. Leinster 9pts (+8) 2. Ulster 9pts (+5) 3. Munster 0pts (-13)

Munster and Leinster’s hopes of ending Ulster’s three-year stranglehold on the boys U18 title at St Andrew’s, Booterstown this weekend have been boosted by the absence of three top players from the northern province.

Former Ireland U18 captain and senior international Ian Sloan was not considered this time around, while Banbridge duo Josh Moffett and Peter Brown have both been forced to withdraw from the squad.

It gives a Munster side — who feature a quartet of Irish underage representatives in skipper Richard Lynch, Scott Sullivan, Gary Wilkinson and Richard Sweetnam — a chance to bely their underdog status, although Leinster bring a host of Division One experience to the table.

Andrew Colton (left) is among the returnees for Munster U18s, who kick off their interpro campaign against Ulster at St Andrew's tonight.

At U16 level, Alex Burns, Julian Dale and Simon Wolfe are the leading lights for Munster in a competition where Leinster are aiming for a fourth success in five years.

In what is a reduced weekend of club action, Bandon and Cork Church of Ireland’s women will both look to move away from the wrong end of the table when they meet in west Cork.

C of I have nonetheless been closing the gap in terms of general play – if not results – as proven by a single-goal loss at Cork Harlequins in midweek.

Ashton, fresh from a stunning 2-1 win over UCC at the Mardyke last weekend, will once again hope Kate Harvey’s drag-flick is in good mettle as they host the season’s surprise package, UL.

Meanwhile, opportunity knocks for two of UCD’s leading lights as Ireland senior women’s coach Gene Muller has opted to shake things up for his side’s trip to Argentina next month.

Following a disappointing European championships campaign, Ireland are Belgium-bound next March for their last shot at Olympic qualification.

Preparation time is therefore in short supply, but the team’s sponsors, ESB Electric Ireland, have helped fund this trip to South America, in which Ireland will play in two high-quality four nations tournaments also featuring India and South Africa.

However, Muller is without some leading lights for the trip; Cork woman Julia O’Halloran has stepped away from the
national panel, while Emma Clarke, Nikki Symmons and Emma Smyth are unavailable and Lisa Jacob is also absent.

That gives chances to Anna O’Flanagan — Leinster’s top scorer so far this term — and Niamh Atcheler, who have been key fulcrums in UCD’s hugely impressive start to the campaign, which has seen the students  topple IHL and Irish Senior champions Pegasus, Munster’s top dogs Catholic Institute and Loreto in the Leinster league.

Nicci Daly and Slough’s  Hannah Bowe — sister of Irish rugby international star Tommy — are also back in the line-up, as is Nikki Evans.

Muller said: “Now that we know we are in the Belgium qualifier in March 2012, our preparation time is short, and the two Four Nations tournaments come at the right time for us in our preparation cycle.

“We are leaving behind more than 300 test caps worth of  experience with Emma Clarke, Emma Smyth, and Nikki  Symmons unavailable.

“While there are no new caps in the team, these tournaments do give us a chance to see less experienced players like Niamh Atcheler, Anna O’ Flanagan, Hannah Bowe, Nicci Daly, Miriam Crowley and Nikki Evans against top class opponents before settling on our Olympic qualifying team.”

Boys Interprovincials (all in St Andrew’s College, Booterstown)

U18

Today: Leinster v Ulster, 3pm; Munster v Ulster, 7pm; Tomorrow: Leinster v Munster, 1pm; Leinster v Ulster, 5pm; Sunday: Munster v Ulster, 12pm; Leinster v Munster, 4pm.

U16

Today: Leinster v Ulster, 1pm; Munster v Ulster, 5pm; Tomorrow: Leinster v Munster, 11am; Leinster v Ulster, 3pm; Sunday: Munster v Ulster, 10am; Leinster v Munster, 2pm.

Women’s Div 1 (Saturday): Bandon v Cork Church of Ireland, 11.30am, Bandon Grammar; Ashton v UL, TBC, Ashton School.

IRELAND senior women’s squad for Four Nations tournaments, Argentina: N Atcheler, H Bowe, A Connery, L Colvin, M Crowley, N Daly, N Evans, E Gray (GK), M Harvey, S McCarthy, S McCay, A O’Flanagan, A O’Flynn, C Sargent, N Small, A Speers (capt), P Smithwick (GK) C Watkins.