Women's Hockey European TrophyHermes become the first Irish women's club to host a European club competition when the European Hockey Trophy gets under way at Grange Road today. Teams from Lithuania, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Belarus, Italy and Switzerland complete the line-up alongside the Irish Cup winners who will be attempting to win promotion to the A division.

Pegasus, this season's All-Ireland club champions, will be the beneficiaries if Hermes can win one of the two available promotion spots in Monday's cross-overs.

Italian side HF Mori Villa Franca are Hermes' first pool opponents, followed by Rotweiss Wettingen HC (Switzerland) tomorrow and Ritm Grodno (Belarus) on Sunday.

Coach Rudi Wortmann has named a squad that includes the five players selected by Riet Kuper for her Irish panel last week - Linda Caulfield, Fiona Connery, Jenny Burke, Jill Hodgins and Caitriona Carey - as well as goalkeeper Tara Browne, who will be making her final appearances for the club before retiring.

Hermes squad: T Browne, Y Kenny, C Carey, J Hodgins, J Osborne, M Powers, C Devine, F Connery, J Burke, A Keane, L Caulfield, A Mitchell, M Logue, C Lawson, S McGloughlin, A McCarthy, S Young, J Lawson.

European Hockey Trophy (at Grange Road) - Pool A: Gintra Universitetas (Lithuania), Royal Leopold Club (Belgium), Slavia Praha HC (Czech Republic), HK Zrinjevac (Croatia). Pool B: Ritm Grodno (Belarus), Hermes, HF Mori Villa Franca (Italy), Rotweiss Wettingen HC (Switzerland).

Today: Gintra v HK Zrinjevac, 10.0; Royal Leopold v Slavia Praha, 12.0; Ritm Grodno v Rotweiss Wettingen, 2.0; Hermes v Mori Villa, 4.0.

Tomorrow: Gintra v Slavia Praha, 10.0; Royal Leopold v Zrinjevac, 12.0; Ritm Grodno v Mori Villa Franca, 2.0; Hermes v Rotweiss, 4.0.

Sunday: Slavia Praha v Zrinjevac, 10.0; Gintra v Royal Leopold, 12.0; Mori Villa v Rotweiss, 2.0; Ritm Grodno v Hermes, 4.0. Monday: cross-overs.