International
11 March 2021

BBC To Broadcast GB Women's Series Against Ireland

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.