Coach Craig Fulton wants more home games for national side

In the week when Olympic qualification was assured after a 108-year wait, Hockey Ireland will hope the sport can capitalise on the marquee achievement with an upsurge in interest in the sport.

For national coach Craig Fulton, he has put together an extensive plan to prepare for Rio in August 2016 and is hopeful applications for the requisite funding will be successful.

“The programme will be geared around getting more time with the players,” he said of his plan for the next 10 months.

‘No accident’

“In 2015, we played 41 Test matches. It’s the most we have ever played in any Irish campaign and it was our most successful which is no accident.”

Crucial to his plan is getting more international matches to Ireland and show off the European bronze medalists in front of a home crowd more often. The three-match series against Argentina were the first games in Ireland since the spring and over 90 per cent of Ireland’s fixtures in the past two years have been overseas.

“We’re not going to create a buzz at home unless we get those games. We need to be accessible to the public, get them to see everything about us.”

For the clubs, the first chance to provide a showcase for the game is Saturday's opening round of the Irish Senior Cup – the world's oldest formal hockey competition dating back to 1894 – with 26 teams lining out.

It is also a first chance to see if a gap is developing between the sides playing in the EYHL national division and those that are playing at provincial level.

Champions Banbridge make the trip to UCD but most ties, on current form, would suggest the elite teams should be in a good place to progress.