Local players named for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
By Stephen Leonard
THE Ireland men’s hockey squad for next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia includes several local players.
Three Rock Rovers goalkeeper Jamie Carr and the Glenanne pair of Shane O’Donoghue and Sam O’Connor are among the 18 selected.
Photograph from Adrian Boehm
Head coach Craig Fulton said “This is a fantastic invite and a really important tournament for us as we play four teams in the top eight.”
First up for Ireland are hosts Malaysia, whom the play on March 3, before they then face off against Olympic champions Argentina, England, World Number One outfit Australia and finally India on March 9 ahead of the classification matches.
This competition is another important staging post in the squad’s preparations for the World Cup in November, as Fulton pointed out, “We also have the challenge of getting used to the heat, different kinds of food and the travel aspect of competition, eight months from the World Cup.”
Fulton’s squad recently returned home from a successful outing in the Five-Nations Tournament in Spain where they won three of their four games.
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