THE Irish teams begin their respective campaigns at the European Team Championships in Amsterdam today. The women's side will be fighting to maintain their position in the top eight of the competition, while the men will be looking to make an immediate return to the that elite.
For the men, led by Derek Ryan and including Stevie Richardson, Maurice Collins, Eoin Ryan and Brian O'Connor, the prospect of failing to win promotion is almost unthinkable.
Portugal and Denmark provide the opposition at the group stage and Greece are likely to emerge from the other group for the playoff. Neither of the former two should seriously threaten the Irish, while the Greeks' main weapon lies at number one where former English international Paul Gregory will present a stiff challenge for Ryan.
For the women the task over the coming days looks somewhat more daunting. The mighty English look almost certain to top the group, and the Germans are also expected to repeat last year's medal-winning performance, leaving Finland as the main target for victory. Even they are seeded three places higher than the Irish, at five, and their confidence will have been done no harm by last year's victory in the group stages, but they do remain beatable.
Tuula Myllyniemi and Nina Taimiaho, at one and two respectively, provide the backbone of their team's strength, but a great deal will depend on the current form of Irish players, none of whom have had the most ideal of preparations for this tournament.
Aisling McArdle returns to Europe from her Australian base admitting that her lack of regular exposure to competitive action makes her prospects something of a mystery. However, she says she is getting to practise with some of the best young players in the world, including Natasha Tippett and former junior world champion Rachael Grinham.
The former Trinity student has been forced to take a job in a law firm in order to make ends meet which, she admits, is very disappointing given that her intention had been to play full time for at least one year.
Last year in this event her efforts were hampered from the very first match by bad blisters on her feet but, with the match against Finland up first at 10.30 this morning and the other group matches largely irrelevant, she will have the chance to throw her all into scoring a win over Myllyniemi.
Her teammates, bank official Olivia French and third level students Anna McGeever and Madeline Perry, all have the potential to score wins at this level.
Britain's women's hockey team continued their domination of Olympic champions Spain with a thrilling 3-2 victory in the last of the quartet of warm-up matches in Atlanta. This final victory at Clark Atlanta University ensured a delighted British team clinched the series 3-1 and has seriously strengthened their Olympic medal chances this summer.
