Ronan Gormley to earn 200th Ireland cap in Germany

Ronan Gormley is set to become the first Irish man to reach 200 international caps when he lines out for the national team against the Olympic champions Germany in Krefeld.

It will be the first of two ties against the Germans as Ireland, coached by Craig Fulton, ramp up their preparations for World League Three, the key event in the Olympic qualifying process which takes place in late June in Antwerp.

Gormley (32) made his international debut in August 2004 against India in Leverkusen and has gone on to captain the side 113 times having taken on the role from Paddy Brown in 2008.

The first tie against Germany will also see Gormley's former Pembroke club-mate Alan Sothern hit the 100-cap mark, the 29th Ireland player to do so.

The series against Germany begins a busy period for Ireland with a three-day training camp following next weekend in Dublin, before they take on France three times a week later. After this, the selection will be made for World League Three.

On home turf, the Irish Hockey League received a huge boost for its inaugural season with the news that professional services firm EY will sponsor the competition.

Scepticism

The first full-season, all-Ireland club league for men and women starts in September. The introduction of the IHL was greeted with plenty of scepticism, particularly in Ulster, but the announcement of a sponsor could go a long way to helping with the league’s running costs.

Elsewhere, Leinster’s men won the junior interpros, winning their first three games to ease to the title over the weekend in Garryduff.

They fielded former Ireland goalkeeper Iain Walker in a novel new role as an outfielder, ditching the pads for the competition as he does for junior teams in YMCA when possible.