MENS HOCKEY: Despite Dave Passmore's triumphant entry into Irish hockey's consciousness in Rome last week he may well become the focus of club frustrations over the coming months.
Already Glenanne are without Stephen Butler, who scored eight goals in five international matches in Rome, and Graham Shaw for their game against Monkstown, while Pembroke must face Three Rock Rovers in their second Leinster Senior League match without goalkeeper Nigel Henderson, Justin Sherriff and Gordon Elliott.
While clubs have been directed to play league and cup matches without their international players, it will be interesting to see how they react after Christmas when the players face into the intense preparation leading up to their World Cup qualifying event in China next March.
Passmore has not yet outlined plans for that event as Ireland only qualified for it by winning in Rome last Saturday, but taking the players out of club hockey for most of, or all of January, February and March, is not beyond reason. To qualify for the World Cup would be the highest achievement in the sport since qualification for the Lahore World Cup in 1989.
The possibility is that Pembroke and Glenanne may have to play most of the domestic season without their best players. Given Butler, Shaw and Sherriff's ability to score goals both of those clubs will be greatly weakened. Passmore's view of what will happen if players break the edict seems clear.
"Their international career will come under review," he said in Rome without further elaborating. Few are likely to want to run that gauntlet given all the work that it has taken to get the Irish team into the position they are now in. But in essence it seems to be just the beginning of a hard road ahead for players and clubs.
Both Cork Harlequins and C of I are under the same instructions with Harlequins beginning the defence of their Munster title without three players which, given the low level of competitive activity both clubs have throughout the season, may level things up somewhat.
But don't expect any other club to crack that Munster monopoly. With a move from Farmers Cross in the pipeline and last week's celebration of Garryduff's new synthetic pitch now complete, Cork hockey is looking healthy.
LEINSTER SENIOR LEAGUE: Division One : Three Rock Rovers v Pembroke Wanderers, Grange Road 1.00; Corinthians v YMCA, Whitechurch Park, 3:00pm; Railway Union v Dublin University Postponed; Monkstown v Glenanne, St Andrews, 3:00; Avoca Fingal, Newpark School, 1:45pm.
MUNSTER SENIOR LEAGUE: Cork C of I B v Cork Harlequins, Garryduff 2.00.
