Revington ready for biggest tests so far

Ireland senior men’s coach Paul Revington finally gets to cast his eye over a full-strength side in tournament conditions at the inaugural Champions Challenge II tournament, which begins in Dublin today. The South African, who took over from Dave Passmore in January, has overseen successes in the Glendwyr Cup and Celtic Cup, but this represents his first fully-fledged ranking event in charge. Last weekend’s Celtic Cup win in Scotland — achieved by a fledgling side containing eight new caps — bodes well for Ireland’s strength in depth, given John Jackson is the only player from that squad to make the 18 for this week.

Five retirements and two potential defections to Great Britain — plus Phelie Maguire’s ongoing humanitarian work in Palestine — mean Revington will field a much-changed side to the one that narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification 16 months ago. C of I’s Karl Burns is the most notable omission from this panel, as Revington gives Conor Harte and Joe Brennan opportunities to stake their claims for the centre-back berths at their first major tournament. At the other end, Leinster youngsters Alan Sothern and Mitch Darling are the new boys, with Sothern looking particularly sharp as he blasted two past Malaysia in a friendly last Friday. Another at the top of his game that night was David Hobbs, who will once again link up with Stephen Butler, Graham Shaw and John Jermyn in a midfield boasting the best part of 500 caps between them. Japan are expected to be the front-runners in Ireland’s Pool A, although Poland and Chile are will be no pushovers. France and Malaysia look the best bets to emerge from the other pool, which is completed by Austria and Russia. Meanwhile, it’s also a big week for Ireland’s U18 girls and boys sides, who get their European championship campaigns underway in Nivelles and Vienna respectively today. Mary Logue’s girls side travel with no injury worries, having remained unbeaten in a three-game series with Scotland last weekend.

This squad boasts bags of senior hockey experience, and is built around the Hermes quartet of Chloe Watkins, Niamh Atcheler, Gillian Pinder and Deirdre Duke, while Catholic Institute’s Naomi Carroll is a primary dangerwoman up front. Logue’s fourth-ranked charges take on England, Belgium and France in the group stages of the A division. On the boys’ side, Fingal’s Andrew Shekleton is a late replacement for Davy Carson, who has been sidelined by a hand injury. Andy Smyth’s side have seen their preparations hindered by the cancellation of a warm-up series against England due to exam commitments. Nonetheless, they are fancied to emerge from a group containing Austria, Switzerland and Ukraine, as they bid to win back A division status.