Men's Hockey:Following the draw for next year's Olympic Qualifier, Irish coach Dave Passmore has clarified the situation regarding players' availability for their clubs this season. The clubs will have to make do without their internationals for a sizeable part of the campaign.
Members of the Irish squad will not be allowed play for or train with their clubs between December 9th and February 20th (the qualifier takes place in Auckland between February 2nd and 10th). The squad will be cut to 19 (plus two reserves) at the end of the year, with the reserves permitted to return to full club commitments then.
Church of Ireland, with Karl Burns, David Hobbs and Mark Ruddle in the squad, will be one of several clubs having to make do without key players, and added to those losses are the departures of John Jermyn to Dutch club HGC and Irish Under-21 Jason Lynch, who will be playing for Lisnagarvey this season. Jermyn is joined at HGC by Annadale's Iain Lewers.
The draw for the Leinster first division fixtures could have been kinder to Kilkenny: last season's division two winners open their campaign away to champions Pembroke Wanderers.
Pembroke will be gearing up for the new Eurohockey League, having been drawn in a pool with Poland's KS Pocztowiec Poznan and Club Egara of Spain in Antwerp.
IRISH TRAINING PANEL(for Olympic Qualifier): E Magee, G McCabe, G Lennox (all Banbridge), A Barbour (Cookstown), K Burns, D Hobbs, M Ruddle (all Church of Ireland), J Black, M Black, D Harte (all Cork Harlequins), S Butler, G Shaw (both Glenanne), M Watt (Grange, Scotland), J Jermyn, I Lewers, P Maguire (all HGC, Holland), P Brown, M Gleghorne, M Irwin (all Instonians), T Cockram (Lisnagarvey), R Gormley, T Lewis (both Pembroke Wanderers), I Walker (YMCA). In squad but not yet in consideration for selection: M Darling, A McConnell (both Three Rock Rovers), C Harte (Pembroke Wanderers).
LEINSTER LEAGUE- Division One: Corinthians v Fingal, Whitechurch, 1.0; UCD v Glenanne, Belfield, 1.0; Bray v Monkstown, Loreto Bray, 1.30; Three Rock Rovers v YMCA, Grange Road, 1.30; Pembroke Wanderers v Kilkenny, Serpentine Avenue, 2.0. Division Two: Railway Union v Navan, Park Avenue, 1.0; Clontarf v Weston, Mount Temple, 2.0; Avoca v Suttonians, Naas v Skerries, PSBPP v Trinity (venues and times tbc).
