Revington named as new Irish coach

Paul Revington has been named as the new Irish senior men’s hockey coach. The 35-year-old South African will succeed Englishman David Passmore, who moves upstairs to a role as the Irish Hockey Association’s (IHA) high performance director.

Passmore had been double-jobbing while the hunt continued for his successor, with current assistant coach Craig Fulton many people’s favourite for the role. Fulton, who played for the Springboks under Revington, will remain part of the new man’s setup, as they look to take Ireland to the finals of a major tournament. Revington brings a wealth of experience to the role, in particular from his three years as the youngest ever head coach of the South African men’s team. Under his tutelage, they moved from 14th to 10th in the world rankings, and qualified for both the 2004 Olympics and 2006 World Cup. He is renowned in South Africa for his forthright views on the game, and he freely admits to having left the national job in 2006 under a cloud, having fallen out with national hockey officials. It is understood Revington was chosen for the Irish role ahead of a number of world-renowned coaches, following a rigorous interview process over the past four weeks. He will officially begin the job in January, and will have a chance to watch some of his charges in action later this month in friendlies against Scotland at Banbridge. “It is an honour for me to be appointed as the new Irish men’s senior coach,” said Revington. “I have watched the Irish team and Irish hockey grow consistently over the years, and am excited to become a part of this organisation. “There is fantastic talent and existing strengths within Irish men’s hockey, and I look forward to creating a dynamic environment that enhances this talent and strength.” Outgoing coach Passmore, who improved Ireland’s world ranking from 24th to 18th in his four years at the helm, said the standard of applicants for the job demonstrated Ireland’s improved world standing. “We have had an exceptional standard of applications with Olympic coaching experience, which demonstrates the perception of the Irish team now compared to three or four years ago,” he said.

Passmore added that while trying to establish an elite sports environment as amateurs requires “real dedication and commitment”, he had left with an important message ringing in the players’ ears. “I think the critical thing for me moving forwards is that we have to – and I’ve said this to the players – lose the ‘small Ireland’ mentality. “We’ve got to get more expressive and dynamic in our attack, because we have a good defensive base and we’re hard to beat, I think that’s going to be their main focus and that has got to start with the junior groups. “We have ability, but the players lose sight of that sometimes and we need to get a better belief inside us that we are good and we can compete.”