AFTER a week's acclimatisation, the Ireland squad appear to have prepared themselves shrewdly for the World Cup qualifying tournament which gets under way at the Bukit Jalih hockey stadium in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. Their opening opponents, Belgium, arrived only on Thursday and may not be ready to cope with the humidity, even if they played several games here in January.
Last night, tropical juices were served to the 12 teams at their hotel poolside in an informal welcoming function. Apart from head colds which have restricted the activity of Robbie Taylor and Gregg Sterritt, the Irish players are shaping up well for action. Most importantly, mid-fielder Alastair Dunne took part in Saturday's practice match against South Africa and seems to have been given sufficient rest to recover from a groin strain.
Dunne scored an early goal from a short corner, and although the South Africans managed to go 3-1 up at half-time, Ireland had the better of the second period and lost only by 3-2 after Colin Hade finished off an incisive back-line move by Daniel Clarke and Chris Jackson.
South Africa are rated among the favourites of the six teams to advance to the finals in Utrecht next year, so Saturday's outing raises hopes that Ireland can make a strong challenge to be among them. Coach Cees Koppelaar saw one of our main rivals in Pool B, Korea, only draw 2-2 with Canada.
But practice games cannot be taken to be of much substance and it is what happens when the crunch comes on the day that will count. The main arena is especially oppressive, as it is completely enclosed, so Ireland among others will feel the going less torrid in their evening fixtures (of which there are three).
Manager George Compston has his players drinking five litres of water a day and weighing in each morning to ensure that there is no significant loss of weight. The swimming pool has helped to keep them relaxed, while jogging sessions have increased stamina. As long as the team bus does not get caught up tomorrow in the traffic chaos here, the stage is set for a composed bid to keep Ireland in world circles.
Meanwhile, there was encouraging news from closer to home. After not being quick enough into their stride against France on Friday, young Ireland showed their real potential in the Celtic four-nation under-21 tournament in beating Scotland 3-0 on Saturday and overpowering hosts Wales 8-1 in Porthmadoc yesterday.
France, as a result of the 3-2 victory over Ireland in their opening match, went on to win the trophy, which will be a minor boost for the game in their country. But the Irish coach George Blackwood was well pleased with his side. "It turned out to be a very good weekend," he said, "especially as our lads were all under-20, compared, to the other more mature teams.
Leading 3-0 at the interval yesterday, Ireland were in a different class to the Welsh. Clarke Kennedy (2), Andrew Barbour (2), Brian Waring (2), Chris Beere and Graham Shaw were the marksmen.
Scotland needed containing initially, but the Irish side - after their nervous start against France - this time steadily gained control from the back and won comfortably. The goals came from David Hanna, Julian Lewis and Waring, who along with Jason Black, was particularly forceful and creative.
