Great Britain’s women will play Ireland in a series of three uncapped matches as they continue to prepare for the resumption of the FIH Hockey Pro League and the Tokyo Olympics.
These games will provide the squad with the opportunity to put into practice what they’ve been working hard on at Bisham Abbey over the last few months.
The matches will be contested on 13, 14 and 16 March and broadcast live on the BBC Sport NI website, BBC iPlayer and the FIH’s Watch Hockey app.
Mark Hager is able to take almost his full squad out to Ireland, with nine players selected having been unable to play in the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Belgium and The Netherlands in October and November last year.
This includes captain Hollie Pearne-Webb, midfielder Hannah Martin and Giselle Ansley, who hasn’t played since the 2019 FIH Olympic Qualifiers after surgery on her Achilles tendon. Unfortunately, Emily Defroand won’t travel due to injury.
Great Britain’s Performance Director Ed Barney said: “This trip presents a huge opportunity to the programme. Having committed some hard yards at Bisham, the players and staff are relishing the opportunity to compete on the international stage.
“With future trips planned and the FIH Hockey Pro League shortly upon us, these matches mark the start of an important competitive phase leading into the Tokyo Olympics.”
As these matches are uncapped, GB Hockey will not be directly reporting on them but we will provide details of how you can watch the games on our social media pages.
The current crop of Great Britain stars will then play their first matches on home soil since late 2019 when the FIH Hockey Pro League returns to London in two months’ time. They face China on 8-9 May, Argentina on 15-16 May and USA on 22-23 May. For more information, click here.
Fixtures
Saturday 13 March: Ireland v Great Britain, 14:00 GMT
Sunday 14 March: Ireland v Great Britain, 17:00 GMT
Tuesday 16 March: Ireland v Great Britain, 15:00 GMT
GB Women’s Squad
1) Maddie Hinch (GK) – England
3) Amy Tennant (GK) – Reading HC/England
4) Laura Unsworth – East Grinstead HC/England
5) Sarah Evans – Surbiton HC/England
6) Anna Toman – Wimbledon HC/England
7) Hannah Martin – Surbiton HC/England
8) Sarah Jones – Holcombe HC/Wales
9) Susannah Townsend – Canterbury HC/England
10) Sarah Robertson – Hampstead & Westminster HC/Scotland
12) Charlotte Watson – Loughborough Students/Scotland
13) Ellie Rayer – East Grinstead HC/England
14) Tess Howard – East Grinstead HC/England
17) Leah Wilkinson – Holcombe HC/Wales
18) Giselle Ansley – Surbiton HC/England
20) Hollie Pearne-Webb (C) – England
22) Lizzie Neal – Loughborough Students/England
24) Shona McCallin – England
25) Sabbie Heesh (GK) – Surbiton HC/England
26) Lily Owsley – Hampstead & Westminster HC/England
27) Jo Hunter – Buckingham HC/England
29) Esme Burge – University of Nottingham HC/England
31) Grace Balsdon – Hampstead & Westminster HC/England
32) Amy Costello – East Grinstead HC/Scotland
33) Izzy Petter – Loughborough Students/England
38) Fiona Crackles – Durham University/England
