HOCKEY:THREE YEARS and one month since last playing for Ireland, Iain Lewers will make his English major tournament debut against his former team-mates tomorrow in Monchengladbach in the first series of group games at the European Championships.

With a keen sense of symmetry, the Ulster man’s last Irish game was against Great Britain before, in the wake of the 2008 Setanta Trophy, going on to attempt to further his Olympic ambitions with England.

It meant a three-year stint in international exile but Lewers worked his way into the England setup and, should he stay there, as hosts, the nation is guaranteed a place at London 2012.

How he fares against a resurgent Ireland, one he felt back then did not have the capacity to challenge for a place at the top table, will be a fascinating affair.

Since his defection, Ireland have improved markedly, winning six titles under Paul Revington, including three in the past summer, most notably the INSEP Five Nations Cup which featured world number one side Australia and sixth-ranked Korea.

Another defector, Mark Gleghorne, has not made the cut for England, ruling out a bizarre match-up against his brother Paul who has become a mainstay in the Irish defence.

It is the first of three group matches for Ireland with France on Monday – whom Revington’s men have beaten four times this summer – and European kingpins the Netherlands following next Wednesday.

Finishing in the top two is an imperative – preferably going through with England – if Ireland are to grab one of the three Olympic qualification places on offer.

Ireland’s women, meanwhile play twice this weekend in their campaign, starting with Germany today before meeting the rising tide of Belgium tomorrow.

Finishing the group against England on Tuesday, their aspirations currently look more modest, especially as there is one less Olympic place on offer.

They enter the tournament off the back of six successive losses since a morale boosting performance at the Champions Challenge in June.

Germany, currently sitting at number three in the world rankings, are a daunting prospect but have been in indifferent form this summer, finishing last in the Champions Trophy. However, they have never been outside the medals in this competition.