WOMEN'S HOCKEY:WITH FIVE of the eight-nation line-up above them in the world rankings, four of them having competed at the summer's Olympic Games, Ireland face a daunting enough task in the Champions Challenge at Belfield which gets under way tomorrow.
Denis Pritchard’s team open their campaign against South Africa (3pm), before playing Scotland and the United States on Sunday and Tuesday.
The second pool in the tournament is made up of Australia, the top seeds for the event, India, Wales and Belgium, the nation that ended Ireland’s Olympic qualifying hopes earlier this year.
Only Scotland and Wales are ranked below the hosts, the Welsh taking the place of Spain in the line-up after they withdrew.
Between them, Hermes and UCD have 11 players in the 18-strong Irish squad, among them UCD’s Brenda O’Flannery, who made her senior debut last weekend in the 3-0 friendly defeat by Australia.
After the completion of the pool phase of the tournament on Tuesday, the crossovers will start on Thursday, following a rest day, with the final and play-offs for placings scheduled for Sunday week.
IRELAND(squad): E Gray, S McCarthy, A O'Flynn, A Connery, L Jacob (all Hermes), N Atcheler, N Gray, B Flannery, C Watkins, A O'Flanagan, K Mullan (all UCD), A Speers (capt), E Smyth (both Railway Union), P Smithwick (Old Alexandra), M Harvey (Pegasus), N Symmons (unattached), M Crowley (UCC), N Small (Loreto).
Champions Challenge I (at Belfield) – Pool A: Australia, India, Belgium, Wales. Pool B: Ireland, South Africa, USA, Scotland. Tomorrow: India v Wales, 10am; Australia v Belgium, 12.30; Ireland v South Africa, 3pm; USA v Scotland, 5.30. Sunday: Belgium v Wales, 10.30; Australia v India, 1pm; Ireland v Scotland, 3.30; USA v South Africa, 6pm. Tuesday: Belgium v India, 10.30; Australia v Wales, 1pm; South Africa v Scotland, 3.30; Ireland v USA, 6pm.
