HockeyAt Belfield this weekend the Irish women's team will attempt to defend the Celtic Cup they won in Cardiff last year, when they took maximum points from games against Wales, Scotland and France.
The men, meanwhile, will hope to make up for missing out to Scotland in that tournament on goal difference, but will have to do so without 11 of the players who competed at last September's European Nations Cup.
With so many players unavailable to him, caretaker coach David Scott has, then, had little choice but to give youth a fling, with nine of his 18-man squad yet to win a senior cap.
The men's and women's teams open their campaigns today against Wales.
Nikki Symmons and Jill Orbinson are the only absentees from Riet Kuper's squad, the only new face Royal School Armagh's Emma Stewart, who is on standby for next month's under-21 European Championship at Belfield.
Susie Martin gave the under-21s an encouraging start to their training week in Germany when she got the only goal of their game against club side Blauweiss.
CELTIC CUP - Women - Today: Scotland v France, 12.0; Ireland v Wales, 4.0. Tomorrow: France v Wales, 10.0; Ireland v Scotland, 2.0. Sunday: Scotland v Wales, 9.0; Ireland v France, 1.0. Men - Today: Scotland v France, 2.0; Ireland v Wales, 6.0. Tomorrow: France v Wales, 12.0; Ireland v Scotland, 4.0. Sunday: Scotland v Wales, 11.0; Ireland v France, 3.0.
