Three Rock Rovers will represent Ireland in European competition on Saturday when they take part in the men's Euro Hockey League Ranking Cup competition in Brasschaat, Belgium.
The competition is part of the completion of the 2020-21 European season which was put on hold in the spring due to the effects of Covid-19.
Three Rock will take on Belarus’s HC Minsk on Saturday at 8.30am Irish time. Should they progress they will face the winner England’s Hampstead & Westminster or Germany’s Mannheimer HC on Sunday morning.
Rovers have participated in the EHL in four previous seasons, reaching the last-16 each time they have competed in the elite level club tournament and in October 2019, they became the first Irish side to win a knockout fixture when they beat Grange of Scotland 5-0 in Barcelona.
Rock head coach Elun Hack says this tournament will help speed up his team's ability to gel together, with a number of players from the last European campaign no longer part of the squad.
"Naturally, I think we were all delighted to welcome our TRR boys back to the club from UCD, and a couple other really nice additions in Matteo Romoli and Ryan Spencer," he said of a side that have picked up seven out of nine points domestically this season.
"We have not had as much time together as we would have liked but there is huge amounts of talent in this group, and I think their natural ability will make 'gelling’ somewhat easier, but there is a lot of work to do.
"This is evidenced by our inconsistent performances in the league thus far. EHL is always a great test of the group, and this time round, it will certainly play a major role in team building and helping the squad come together."
An Irish side has never faced Belarusian opposition to date in the Euro Hockey League and although HC Minsk present an unknown quantity, Hack expects a tough test.
"They will have a strong indoor influence, so we are expecting a tough one v one battle, good solid defensive abilities, and high-quality basics from them," he said.
"EHL is unique in that it brings together teams that would otherwise never play against each other, and therefore provides the opportunity to test your skills and abilities against different demands.
"However they line up, it will be a great test for us, and one we are really excited about. In 2019, we had a fantastic match against Grange, and then Rot Weiss (Koln).
"We will be hoping for more of the same this time around and prove that Irish teams are well capable of competing against the big teams across Europe."
