Five members of Ireland's European Under-21 Championship trophy-winning team in Padua will be involved in tomorrow's match to mark the opening of the new WA Carpenter hockey pitch at Harlequin Park, Cork. David Smyth, captain of the junior side, and the top marksman Justin Sherriff will play for an Irish senior selection while Jason Black, Andrew Chambers and Mark Black are included in Munster's squad.

In Dublin, Three Rock Rovers stage their annual start-up tournament at Grange Road with England's representatives, Old Loughtonians and Ben Rhydding, likely to emerge as the main challengers to Instonians for the Budweiser trophy.

Tonight, though, in a pairing which brings Ireland's Europeanbound clubs into opposition, Rovers may well stir themselves to give Instonians as spirited a game as they did in the Irish Senior Cup final last May.