Ireland suffer heavy defeat ahead of Craig Fulton naming squad

A heavy 6-0 training game defeat to England at Bisham Abbey has given new Irish coach Craig Fulton plenty of food for thought as he prepares to name his first squad for a world ranking competition tomorrow.

The South African employed a new look side for two games in England but he may revert to more tried and tested faces for the Champions Challenge I which starts in Malaysia on April 26.

He will hope to pick a number of players who are involved in next weekend's Euro Hockey League including goalkeeper David Harte along with Reading pair John Jackson and Chris Cargo but it is unclear whether Surbiton duo Mikey Watt and Geoff McCabe will be available.

Similarly, former captain Ronan Gormley has been tied up in German league action of late with Crefelder and is not likely to be called upon meaning Fulton may put faith in the fresh faces.

Just five of the European championship panel played in the games against England with five of the panel only having made their debuts in January against Spain with the Malaysia tournament the first step toward the 2016 Olympics.