Irish start season against Scotland

HOCKEY:THE IRELAND women's team will get the international season under way in Banbridge next week with three matches against Scotland, all of them official Tests.

Coach Gene Muller will, though, have to do without several key players, among them captain Éimear Cregan and Ciara O'Brien, as a number of his squad either recover from injuries or take a break from the international scene.

Goalkeeper Mary Goode, Róisín Flinn, Louisa Moore, Rachel Mulligan, Julia O'Halloran and Stephanie Quinn were also unavailable to Muller, giving some of the more recent additions to his panel the chance to impress against Scotland.

"These matches against Scotland are ideal for us at the start of a new international season," said Muller.

"Our matches against them are always very competitive, so this will be a very good test for the individual players and the team. These matches come at a time where were are looking to settle on a squad of players to work with going in to 2009."

As the club with the largest representation in the squad, Loreto, with some relief, got word from the Leinster branch on Wednesday that their request for the postponement of tomorrow's game against Hermes had been accepted.

They would have had to play the Leinster champions without Nikki Symmons, Louisa Healy, Liz Colvin, Cathy McKean and Niamh Small, while Hermes would have been without goalkeeper Emma Gray.

That game, then, will be rescheduled, giving Railway Union a chance to extend their lead at the top of the table if they can beat Bray at Park Avenue.

A win over Old Alexandra, buoyed by their victory over Pembroke Wanderers last week, would see UCD climb to second, while Pembroke will hope to regain lost ground against Glenanne at Serpentine Avenue. The bottom two, Trinity and Corinthian, meet in Santry.

IRISH SQUAD: N Symmons, L Healy, L Colvin, C McKean, N Small (all Loreto), L Barr, M Frazer, B McKeever (all Ballymoney), M Harvey, A Speers (Pegasus), E Clarke, S McCay (Ulster Elks), K Elkin (Randalstown), E Gray (Hermes), L Jacob (UCD), J McDonough (Belfast Harlequins), H Moffett (UCC), C Sargent (Cork Harlequins), E Stewart (Armagh).

Fixtures

Leinster League - Division One: Railway Union v Bray, Park Avenue, 12.45; Old Alexandra v UCD, Milltown, 1.30; Pembroke Wanderers v Glenanne, Serpentine Avenue, 3.30; Trinity v Corinthian, Santry, 10.30.