Ireland’s U18 boys and girls sit on the cusp of a remarkable double triumph, after both put themselves in the driving seat to annex their respective Four Nations titles at Garryduff in Cork today. Both Irish sides chalked up rare victories over England, meaning a draw will therefore be enough for both outfits to claim overall honours on home turf tomorrow; the girls are first up against Scotland (10.30am), while the boys take on Wales two hours later.
Ireland’s U18 boys and girls made heavy weather of their opening Four Nations fixtures at Garryduff in Cork earlier today, but ultimately both outfits can be happy with winning starts to their campaigns. The boys beat Scotland 4-2, while the girls saw off Wales 2-0.
The Irish U16 girls management team have this morning strongly refuted Dutch accusations of “physical violence” in yesterday’s EuroHockey Youth Nations Championships semi-finals in Barcelona – as well as outlining what they believe to be a lack of respect from a dominant Netherlands side.
Ireland’s U18 girls will be keen for success in other arenas to rub off when they get their Four Nations campaign underway at Garryduff in Cork tomorrow (6pm).
Irish hockey’s top photographers have joined forces to launch a new one-stop shop for players, parents and fans to purchase top-class pictures, in association with The Hook and Southern Fried.
THE Irish Hockey Association yesterday gave the green light to controversial plans to centralise the women’s senior hockey team in Dublin for 10 months. The IHA board has given their approval to a Central Preparation Programme (CPP), which the national body say will “facilitate a core, intensive preparation program” in a bid to qualify for the Olympics in London in 2012.