Ireland's women's coach Gene Muller has annouced a large squad to compete against Australia over the four uncapped games which take place this week in UCD, Dublin, Ireland.
Muller has pulled six young uncapped players into the squad to give them their first taste of hockey at the top international level. ÔÇ£We are very exited to be playing against Australia. As a World top 4 team they will be a real challenge for our young group which includes 6 teenagers. This is the first event for us following time off after the European Championships and as such signals the start of our preparation for the Olympic Qualifier. We will be playing 4 different teams in the 4 matches, rotating 27 players over the course of the matches.ÔÇØ he commented.
The Australians are playing Ireland as part of a larger tour, which also sees them play South Africa and GB as part of their preparations for the Beijing Olympics, for which they have already qualified. Australia is billing the touring team as Australia A but the squad list reads more like a full Australian team.
The matches between Ireland and Australia will take place on Wednesday 24, Thursday 25, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 October 2007.
Team Ireland match 1, Wednesday 24 October 2007:
Mary Goode, Shauna Frey, Chistine Quinlan, Cliodhna Sargent, Stephanie Quinn, Grace Watters, Holly Moffet, Emma Clarke, Emma Stewart, Shirley McCay, Niamh Small, Julia O'Halloran, Cathy McKean, Roisin Flinn, Lisa Jacob, Aine Connery.
Team Ireland match 2, Thursday 25 October 2007:
Mary Goode, Louisa Healy, Cliodhna Sargent, Stephanie Quinn, Christine Quinlan, Grace Watters, Lizzie Colvin, Nikki Symmons, Emma Clarke, Niamh Small, Holly Moffet, Julia O'Halloran, Roisin Flinn, Alex Speers, Lisa Jacob, Aine Connery.
Team Ireland match 3, Saturday 27 October 2007:
Louisa Healy, Shauna Frey, Bridget McKeever, Ciara O'Brien, Clare Parkhill, Christine Quinlan, Cliodhna Sargent, Emma Stewart, Nikki Symmons, Shirley McCay, Niamh Small, Eimear Cregan, Jenny McDonough, Alex Speers, Amy Stewart, Rachel Mulligan.
Team Ireland match 4, Sunday 28 October 2007:
Mary Goode, Louisa Healy, Bridget McKeever, Ciara O'Brien, Clare Parkhill, Stephanie Quinn, Emma Stewart, Emma Clarke, Nikki Symmons, Shirley McCay, Eimear Cregan, Jenny McDonough, Cathy McKean, Amy Stewart, Rachel Mulligan, Lizzie Colvin.
Team Australia for all matches:
Nikki Hudson, Teneal Attard, Casey Eastham, Madonna Blyth, Emma Stewart, Kim Walker, Kate Hollywood, Emily Halliday, Fiona Johnson, Hope Munro, Ashleigh Nelson, Kobie McGurk, Megan Rivers, Renee Trosz, Shelly Liddelow, Rebecca Sanders, Toni Cronk, Carla Hunter.
Source: Irish Hockey Association
For further information please contact Katie Roche on 01 2600028
