MEN'S HOCKEY: With the men's European Championships looming in September, this weekend's Celtic Cup in Edinburgh will again give coach Dave Passmore a chance to look at various combinations of his senior Irish squad.
While Ireland are capable of again winning the tournament, that is not the priority, although, there is nothing to suggest Passmore cannot experiment and carry off the trophy.
Ireland are, after all, targeting the Rome European tournament as something they can win and earn a place back along side the elite in Europe.
Ireland's first Celtic Cup match takes place today against the French before they face Wales on Saturday and Scotland on Sunday. The weekend really only kicks off an intense couple of weeks as the team then shoots off to Leuven Hockey Club in Belgium to play three Test matches.
The players will then have one rest day before returning to Dublin on Friday 29th to play two Test matches against the powerful Germans as part of the official opening of the new synthetic pitch at Belfield.
The meeting with Germany will tell more about the condition of the Irish team than either the Celtic Cup or the games against Belgium. The Germans, who are the number-one ranked team in the world, will probably win both matches but whether Ireland can contest the match under the predictable pressure Germany will exert will ask different questions of the players.
"The Celtic Cup is not one of our performance targets for the year and will therefore provide me with an ideal opportunity to watch several of the individuals closely with a view for selection for Rome," says Passmore. Denis Pritchard will be the head coach for the Celtic Cup games with Passmore assuming a national coach's role and will observes the games from the stands rather than the bench.
Justin Sherriff, Ireland's top scorer, will not be involved in the trip to Edinburgh, nor will Stephen Butler or his former Glenanne team-mate Graham Shaw. All three, as well as Mark and Jason Black, have been included in the squad for the Belgium Tests, while the squad for the German matches will be picked next week.
FIXTURES: Today: France v Ireland, 2.0, Edinburgh; Saturday: Wales v Ireland, 12.0 Edinburgh; Sunday: Scotland v Ireland, 4.0, Edinburgh; Tuesday 26th, Belgium v Ireland 7.30, Belgium; Wednesday 27th Belgium v Ireland, 7.30, Belgium; Thursday 28th, Belgium v Ireland 7.30, Belgium; July 30th, Ireland v Germany, Belfield 2.0; July 31st, Ireland v Germany, Belfield 11.0.
