Men's Hockey:Cork C of I's David Hobbs, who has already amassed 99 caps, is expected to win his 100th this weekend as Ireland begin the countdown to their Olympic qualifying event in February 2008.
Coach Dave Passmore takes his squad over to Stirling in Scotland, where they will play the Scottish national side in three Test matches, beginning today and ending on Sunday.
Not only will Hobbs wear the green for the 100th time, but at the age of 25 years and 162 days he will be the youngest male player to achieve this enviable milestone. Before the Corkman, only 16 other male players have achieved 100 caps, including fellow Munster man and Cork Harlequins player Jason Black.
Hobbs made his debut on the full Ireland side at 19 on May 31st, 2002 at the Celtic Cup against Wales, where Ireland won 3-1. In the same year he played every game for Ireland in the European Qualifiers. The following year, he also played every match in the 2003 European Championships as he started to establish himself as an ever-present.
Despite taking a year out in 2004 he regained his place in 2005 and was an integral part of the side which won gold in Rome in the European B division and then competed in the World Cup qualifier in China 2006 and European Championships in Manchester in 2007.
The weekend is really a chance to take an early look at the state of the side and the individual players, always with one eye on the New Zealand qualifier. With several of his players now based in Europe and exposed to more regular high level hockey, Passmore ought to see a significant difference. Iain Lewers, John Jermyn and Eugene Magee are all playing in the Netherlands with HGC, while Michael Watt competes for Grange in Scotland. "These matches will provide an opportunity to gauge where our players are and make selections for our trip to Chile," said Passmore. "The athletes have been working especially hard for the past four weeks on and off the pitch, so I am keen to see if we can play some of the high tempo hockey that will be required if we are to push hard in New Zealand."
Andy McConnell (Three Rock Rovers) has also been called into the squad, having returned from playing in the Dutch league. While Hobbs gains his 100th, the Rovers player could earn his first.
IRELAND SQUAD: J Black (Cork Harlequins), M Black (Cork Harlequins), P Brown (Instonians), K Burns (Cork C of I), S Butler (Glenanne), T Cockram (Lisnagarvey), R Gormley (Pembroke Wanderers), D Hobbs (Cork C of I), M Irwin (Instonians), J Jermyn (HGC, Holland), G Lennox (Bandbridge), T Lewis (Pembroke Wanderers), E Magee (Bandbridge/HGC), P Maguire (Three Rock Rovers), G McCabe (Bandbridge), A McConnell (Three Rock Rovers), G Shaw (Glenanne), I Walker (YMCA), M Watt (Grange, Scotland), C Harte (Pembroke Wanderers).
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Today: International- Scotland v Ireland, Sterling, 8pm. Saturday: International- Scotland v Ireland, Sterling, 5pm. Leinster Senior League - Division One: Kilkenny v Monkstown, Kilkenny College, 2,30. Division Two: Suttonians v Weston, Suttonians, 12pm; Skerries v Navan, Skerries, 1pm; Dublin University v Clontarf, tbc; PSBPP v Avoca, RCSI, 1.15pm; Naas v Railway Union, Navan, 3.30. Munster Senior League - Division One: Church of Ireland B v Bandon A, Garryduff, 1.15; Harlequins l v Catholic Institute I, Farmers Cross, 12.30. Sunday: International- Scotland v Ireland, Sterling, 1pm.
