Provincial teams best bet for Europe

MEN'S HOCKEY:ON A trip to London this week, where the pink and purple surface for the Olympic Hockey event is now complete, a suggestion arose about what might be best for the future of the game in Ireland.

The discussion was radical enough and although it was conceded it might be a little too liberal for Hockey Ireland, the rugby model was put forward as a successful way to do business.

The suggestion was that Ireland use the provincial teams, Leinster, Ulster and Munster, to represent the Irish Hockey Association in the Euro Hockey League. There are tournaments in Ireland that are successfully providing those teams already but the discussion was about radical reform, geared towards making Irish hockey stronger in the hope of providing international teams that would contend for participation in Olympic, world and European championships.

As it is now, the interprovincial series is a bragging rights event between the three provinces. The players then go back and play for their clubs, qualify for Europe and very often ship heavy defeats by the bigger teams of Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

That the interprovincial tournament has been abandoned this year illustrates where it now stands with the national coaches.

Unless Irish clubs can afford three or four top foreign players, they will not beat the best in Europe. In addition the top Irish players are increasingly going to Europe anyway, a factor that has played an important part in Ireland’s improvement in recent years and the optimism around next year’s Olympic qualifier in Belfield.

For smaller countries such as Ireland, district or provincial sides are the only way they can consistently succeed. Wales found that out in rugby and so have the IRFU, while Scotland has only two clubs, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Perhaps Europe is the route to take with the Irish hockey provinces too.

Saturday: Leinster Senior League: Division One – Glenanne v Monkstown, Glenanne Park, 1pm; Fingal v Corinthians, ALSAA, 1.45pm; Pembroke Wanderers v YMCA, Serpentine Avenue, 2pm ; Clontarf v Railway Union, Mount Temple, 2pm. Division Two – Rathgar v Avoca, High School, 2pm; Dublin University v Suttonians, Grange Road, 3pm; Portrane v Mullingar, Botanic, Glasnevin, noon. Sunday: Leinster Senior Cup – Clontarf v Corinthians , Mount Temple, 2pm; Three Rock Rovers v Avoca, Grange Road, 3pm; Fingal v Glenanne, ALSAA, 1:30pm; YMCA v Railway Union, Alexandra College, Milltown, 4pm.