HOCKEY: Ireland left for South Africa on Wednesday with the retirement of Mark Raphael ringing in their ears. That decision has made Irish hockey think hard about the future of the game and how it can keep experienced players.
As one of the most skilful players on the national squad, Raphael follows Leinster's Nigel Henderson and Gordon Elliott, Munster's Wesley Bateman and David Smyth from Ulster. All five players were part of the squad that won the European Championship trophy in Rome last September and propelled the team into the World Cup qualifiers in China this April.
All have legitimate reasons for leaving the top end of the sport (the women's team are in a similar situation). Ireland now have the task of finding a way to hold on to those players with 50-plus caps.
Raphael informed the Irish management he is withdrawing from the national programme with immediate effect citing increased personal and work commitments together with the increased commitment required for the World Cup Qualifier.
He made his international debut in 1998 against Wales in Cardiff and went on to win 81 caps and score 10 goals. After coming through the Irish underage ranks he went on to play in two A divisions European Championships (Padova 1999, Barcelona 2003) and was a key member of the squad in Rome.
"I am unable to commit fully to the upcoming programme," he said. "I recently got engaged (to Katie Arnott) who I am marrying in the summer. I am also moving house in the next month and I will be doing my final Engineering assessment in March. I feel the commitment required at this level is something that needs to be kept to the highest level and anything short of this is selling yourself short and letting down your team-mates."
Needless to say there is a disappointed head coach David Passmore in South Africa. "Mark is undoubtedly one of, if not the most skilful player in Ireland. To be losing a player with his skill set is terribly disappointing, especially as our preparations are really just commencing," said Passmore.
"It further raises the issue for Irish hockey about addressing the longevity of players. We have to ask them to train like full-time athletes or we have no chance of competing, yet they also have full-time careers and private lives to deal with. As performance director I am looking at initiatives to address this but money is always the biggest hurdle."
Due to Raphael's retirement Dublin University's Peter Blakeney has been added to the South African squad.
SATURDAY: Leinster Senior League: Division Two: Clontarf v Naas, 2.15pm, Mount Temple; Bray v Kilkenny, 1.15pm, Loreto Bray; Weston v Skerries, 3pm, King's Hospital; St James Gate v Suttonians, 2pm, Iveagh Grounds; Portrane/StB/PP v UCD 1pm DCU. Munster Senior Cup: Belvedere A v Catholic Institute A, 12pm, Ballincollig; Division One League: Harlequins 1st V Harlequins 2nds,11.30, Harlequins.
