News in brief: Munster U16 boys trials

INTERPROS: Munster U16 boys coach Andrew Gray has confirmed that the first trial for the 2009/10 interpros will be held later this month. With the U16 interpros scheduled very early in the season (October 2-4), trials and training will be held throughout the summer to ensure the team is adequately prepared. The first trial will take place at Mount Mercy College, on the Model Farm Road in Cork, on Saturday June 20, from 10am-3.30pm with a one-hour lunch break. Players are asked to bring €5 to cover pitch rental costs, full hockey gear, a water bottle, red, white and black shirts and a packed lunch. For more details, contact Andrew Gray on andrewbgray(at)eircom(dot)net.

TRANSFERS: Corkman Jonny Bruton, who is about to embark on a summer stint in Australia with Fremantle Magpies, is not the only Irish international on the move to farther shores this year. Phelie Maguire has agreed a two-year deal with Belgian runners-up and EuroHockey League semi-finalists KHC Leuven, conquerors of his Three Rock Rovers side in this year’s tournament. Maguire has previously had stints in Australia with Fremantle and in Holland with HGC. The Irish international midfielder has been living and working Belgium for the majority of this season in Brussels before taking part in a volunteer programme in Palestine. Maguire’s Three Rock team-mate  Mitch Darling is also looking further afield, and has been in talks with a couple of Dutch and Belgian clubs with a view to a move to the continent in the coming year. ULSTER: Cookstown are set to start work on a new £900,000 water-based synthetic pitch later this month. An international standard surface will be laid alongside the current sand-filled pitch at Cookstown High School, the first such facility west of the Bann. This brings the number of water-based pitches in the Ulster Premier League – which Cookstown won this year for the second successive season – to six, with Banbridge, Lisnagarvey, Annadale, Instonians and Mossley already playing on such surfaces.

Project manager Stephen Cuddy said: “We have simply outgrown our current facilities and we made the decision four years ago that if we were going to develop a second pitch it would have to be water-based. “At the moment our men’s first XI travel to Belfast every week to gain exposure on such surfaces, but now we’ll have a top-class pitch of our own, capable of staging senior internationals and cup semi-finals and finals within Ulster.” EUROPE: Hermes slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Italian outfit Mori Villafranca in the EuroHockey Club Champion’s Trophy final earlier this week. Anna O’Flanagan and Jenny Burke missed good chances before Elena Apelganets nailed the winner’s only corner of the game before the break. Anna Tagliaschi added the second in the 56th minute to seal the title extinguishing coach Colin Stewart’s dream of finishing his four-year stint with Hermes with a tenth piece of silverware. The result means Ireland miss out on promotion to the Champion’s Cup level of competition, meaning IHL winners Loreto will preside in the Trophy again in 2010. Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Irish internationals Hannah Bowe – brother of Irish rugby star Tommy – and Munster girl Emer Harte  who were part of England’s Slough who were relegated from the Champion’s Cup due to a 4-3 loss to Ukraine’s Dinamo Sumchanka.

In men’s European competition, Bloemendaal emerged victorious after an incredible EHL final, just getting the better of holders Uhlenhorst 5-4. The combination work of the world’s two best players Jamie Dwyer and Teun de Nooijer helped build up a 4-0, then 5-1 lead. The German side bounced back with a stunning fightback but Bloemendaal held on to take the title for the first time.  Highlights are available at http://www.ehlhockey.tv/. COACHING: The IHA has announced it is to run a hihg performance coaching course in conjunction with the men’s Champions Challenge II event, to be held in Dublin from July 6-12. The course will run on the Friday and Saturday of the tournament (June 10 and 11). For more information, click here. Meanwhile, the IHA is also running level 1 and level 2 courses in Cork over the summer. The level 1 course will take place at Ashton School on the Blackrock Road on Jult 4, 11 and 25 from 9am to 5pm, while the level 2 course takes place at Harlequin Park on July 18 and 19, and August 8 and 9. More information available here.