France first for Ireland

Hockey: Ireland are presented with a chance to start their campaign with a win as France provide the opposition in the opening match of the European Championship in Padua on Wednesday, September 1st. The schedule was announced yesterday.

But the next afternoon, the Irish side must face the World and Olympic champions Holland. Then comes a rest day before there is the long awaited meeting with England at noon on the Saturday. A match against Russia comes on the Monday and Ireland's final game in Pool A is against old rivals Poland.

Irish programme: September 1st, v France, 9.30; 2nd, v Netherlands, 2.30; 4th, v England, 12.0; 6th, v Russia, 12.0; 7th, v Poland, 12.0.

Meanwhile Irish under-21 coach George Blackwood has announced his squad for the Celtic Cup tournament in Cork on March 19th-21st. It includes seven survivors from the side which won the European Junior Championship (B division) in Padua last August. They are joined, notably, by Glenn Bailey, Stephen Butler and Simon Kershaw.

IRELAND UNDER-21s: G Bailey (Monkstown), C Henderson (Pembroke Wanderers); C Bailey (Monsktown), R Beere (Monkstown), M Black (Cork C of I), A Bothwell (Three Rock Rovers), S Butler (Glenanne), A Chambers (Cork C of I), C Clarke (Lisnagarvey), M Harte (Dublin University), S Kershaw (Pembroke Wanderers), K Lunn (lisnagarvey), G McKee (Mossley), W Powderly (YMCA), G Shaw (Glenanne), J Sherriff (Monkstown); coach: G Blackwood; manager: W Haslett.

Tennis: Kelly Liggan, the Spanish based player who qualifies to play for Ireland under the parentage rule, heads the new Irish rankings for the first time, demoting Gina Niland to second place.

Rankings (last year's in brackets) - Men: 1, Scott Barron (1); 2, Owen Casey (2); 3, Tommy Hamilton (4); 4, John Doran (3); 5, George McGill (5); 6, Robert Collins (9); 7, James (Pringle (-); 8, D Mullins (10); 9, J Greene (6); 10, N Malone (7). Women: 1, Kelly Liggan (-); 2, Gina Niland (1); 3, Claire Curran (2); 4, Lesley O'Halloran (3); 5, Yvonne (Doyle (-); 6, Karen Nugent (-); 7, Yvonne Flynn (4); 8, Aoife O'Neill (5); 9, Eimear Sloan (-); 10, Sinead Walsh (7).

Rugby: Campbell College stormed into the St Patrick's Day Ulster Schools' Cup final by beating Methodist College, 17-9, at Ravenhill yesterday. It took a marvellous solo effort by right wing Ian Moore in injury time to seal the issue.

Scorers: Campbell: C Hamilton, A Smyth, I Moore try each, M McComish conversion; MCB: N Kirkwood two penalties, K Pyper drop goal.

Boxing: Paul `Silky' Jones has admitted that Saturday's riot at a boxing show in Oldham, in which a man was killed, has caused him to hang up his gloves. Jones topped the bill but lost his Commonwealth middleweight title to Londoner Jason Matthews after being disqualified for holding in the seventh round.