MEN'S HOCKEY:WITH IRELAND playing Scotland three times over the weekend in preparation for their World Cup Qualifier in Argentina next month, the senior club sides will be missing many of their key players. As a result the international-stacked Pembroke are out of this weekend's league fixtures with Glenanne as the focus clearly turns to the international venue, Banbridge. Munster and Ulster have granted postponements, while Leinster has three out of five matches taking place.
Ireland will hope to build from their mixed bag in Paris last week where they drew 1-1 with the French in their second Test match after falling 6-1 in the first.
These are interesting times for the new-look Ireland squad. Coach Paul Revington is still looking for his strongest unit for the trip to South America – which could involve eight Test games over 12 days – and must also keep an eye on Olympic issues.
Ireland front up to the Scots tonight at 8pm and Revington will use, for want of a better phrase, squad number one. He has selected two groups, the first to play in the first two Tests and the second in the third. It’s a mix of experienced names like Stephen Butler, Ronan Gormley and Graham Shaw and younger players and is not entirely results driven.
That said, Ireland are ranked 18th in the world to Scotland’s 24, so there is credibility at stake and even with some experimentation to be carried out, Ireland will be looking to win the series.
Domestically, Three Rock Rovers will want to take full advantage of Glenanne and Pembroke resting, Rovers travel to Mount Temple where they will expect to get a result and Corinthians travel to Park Avenue in the expectation that home side Railway will yield something.
On a less high-profile note, there has been some anxiety over the parlous state of Division Two in Leinster. There are currently only six teams, which means clubs would have a match on average only once every three weeks on a home and away basis. It has been mooted they play each other three times, not ideal but surely better than 10 competitive games.
