The Limerick native is set to become the most capped Irish hockey player of all time, in either the men’s or women’s code; she has 165 to her name, one shy of the record set by fellow Munster woman and former Cork Harlequins team-mate Rachael Kohler.

Ireland’s senior women kick off their Four Nations campaign against Australia in Essen, Germany tonight (7pm), with skipper Cregan set to equal Kohler’s tally of 166 — a record since 2003 — if she plays.

And she is almost certain to overtake that mark in the games against India and the hosts over the weekend.

Eimear Cregan's superb 3D skills are a big part of her game. Picture: Adrian Boehm

But the free-scoring Catholic Institute player wasn’t always destined to leave a hook-shaped imprint on the sporting landscape.

Typically prodigious in almost every sport she had a crack off, Cregan had looked set to be a GAA star. A niece of legendary former Limerick player and coach Eamonn Cregan, camogie seemed set to be her calling — she’d first picked up a hurley at age three.

But, as she recalled this week, her introduction to hockey almost didn’t happen at all.

“I absolutely hadn’t a clue of the rules and I was from a big GAA family. My friend asked me to come down, gave me a stick and shinguards and the minute I picked up the stick I absolutely loved it,” she recalled.

“A lot of it would transfer over from the ground hurling. I loved the smaller skills, the dodging and so on, from the very start. I didn’t have any expectations, I just went out to enjoy it and it went from there.

“I always wanted to play for Ireland and that drives you on. But it does take a lot of hard work and commitment.” You do put certain things on hold in your life; you miss a lot of parties but you get to play for your country and see the world. We’ve been so lucky and I feel so privileged.”

She made her international debut while studying at the University of Limerick — where she also won an Ashbourne Cup in camogie — in 2001, aged 19.

When an U21 tournament was cancelled due to foot and mouth, then-Irish coach Riet Kuper gave Cregan her chance in the senior setup, and she hasn’t looked back.

She cites scoring a hat-trick against Korea in 2005 and partaking in the 2002 World Cup as her career highlights. But she is is determined to create more memories in the future.

“We’re a young team, we were obviously disappointed with our performance in Chile (failed World Cup qualification campaign) but it’s so good to have a month off and then be able to play in a high quality tournament.

“We’re constantly improving. I don’t think I’ve played with a squad which has been so tactically aware and technically aware due to the teaching of (coaches) Gene Muller and Denis Pritchard. We can adapt to different situations.

Cregan is hopeful the Irish team will have more reason to celebrate in the future. Picture: HockeyPress Argentina

“This team, as long as we stay together and keep improving, we really are focusing on getting an outcome from every tournament to build to getting that fourth in Europe in August 2011 where we’ll be a serious force to be reckoned with.”

Considering that modern-day exceptional talents now make their senior international bow as young as 15 or 16, the fact that Cregan stands on the cusp of such a remarkable achievement at just 28 years of age is proof of her outstanding talent and superb consistency in terms of form.

Had she not been so troubled by injury in recent years, Cregan would have reached this landmark even sooner.

Possessing superb 3D, mid-air skills that are all-too-rare in the women’s game — as well as never-ending determination — she stands out at all levels. And like all great forwards, she has the knack of scoring crucial goals at important times.

The best of these, for me, came in Cork Harlequins’ final Irish Hockey League pool game at home to Armagh in April 2009. Quins were leading 3-1 but needed a fourth strike to give them an all-important bonus point, in order to make the semi-finals.

But with 45 seconds remaining, up stepped Cregan, picking up the ball 40 yards out and careering past three players, before cracking the ball into the bottom corner from the top of the circle, despite being off-balance.

It was just one of hundreds of memorable career moments for Cregan; all of Irish hockey hopes she has plenty more to come, but she isn’t taking anything for granted.

“If I’m honest, I know it sounds a cliché but I always take one game at a time. Obviously, you take each test series as it comes and because I was out injured and had surgery in September, I had to work very hard behind the scenes to get back.

“At that stage, my aim was just to get to Chile and play as well as I could there so now its an absolute bonus to go to Germany and hopefully get my 166th cap.

“I’ve been very lucky to get into the squad, selected by Riet Kuper, and to play in a World Cup and four European championships. I do still take one game at a time and every game as a bonus and never take being selected for granted. It’s just another game, but I’m obviously honoured and delighted.”

Quotes courtesy of, and with sincere thanks to, Stephen Findlater. Check out The Hook today (Friday) for his full interview with the Irish skipper.

Prior to his departure to the Melville City club in Perth, Herbert sat down with Southern Fried to explain the rationale behind his move, citing a recent incidence of being laid off as a primary motivating factor.

“With my recent job situation, I decided I’d like to move out there for a while,” explained the 24-year-old Irish international. “I said I’d look at some hockey teams, sent around a few emails, and Melville got back to me and offered me an opportunity, so I basically jumped on it. I just decided it’s my time to go.

Andy Herbert: hoping to star in his new role with Melville City HC in Perth, Australia. Picture: Adrian Boehm

“It’s a cliché, but because of the downturn, players are looking at their situation. Jobs might come first before hockey for people now, as they reassess their situation.”

Melville helped source three player sponsors for Herbert, which have helped with his flight and accommodation costs and no doubt sweetened the deal somewhat.

Having some Irish caps to his name – he made his senior debut at the Celtic Cup in 2009 – no doubt helped grease the wheels in that sense, but Herbert says he has the approval of national coach Paul Revington to make the move down under.

“He gave me very positive feedback and advised me to go,” said Herbert. “He said it was a great opportunity, especially in light of being laid off, and that he couldn’t hold me back, and he wished me luck.

“A big part of my decision was to have his blessing. I’d always have a regret if I turned my back on the Irish team, and it was something I didn’t look lightly upon.

“I think he (Revington) views people going abroad, experiencing new things and possibly playing at a higher standard than the Irish Hockey League as a positive thing. You can only become a better player as a result.”

The talented midfielder is the latest in an increasing stream of internationals trying their hand abroad. On the men’s side alone, Mitch Darling, Phelie Maguire and Eugene Magee are all based in Belgium, with Stephen Butler soon to join them.

The path down under is also well-worn; Herbert’s former C of I clubmate Jonny Bruton spent time at Fremantle last season, the club where Mick Maguire and Peter Blakeney of Three Rock Rovers also made a big impression.

Blakeney even earned a call-up to the Western Australia regional side, the SmokeFree WA Thundersticks, who compete in the Australian Hockey League, an achievement which Herbert would love to emulate.

Herbert's former C of I tesam-mate Jonny Bruton, has just returned after a year in Australia, which included a stint in Perth with Fremantle hockey. Picture: Adrian Boehm

He spoke to each of those players when making his decision, and was partially swayed by Phelie Maguire’s recommendation of the talents of coach Peter Freer, who recently pitched up at Melville following a period with Fremantle.

While acknowledging that the Melville’s's help in securing sponsorship places a certain amount of pressure on him to perform – “but that’s a challenge I’m looking forward to” – Herbert is determine to enjoy his soujourn, wherever it takes him.

He’s had a mixed start, winning his debut game 2-1 before losing 5-0 the following week. The club currently lies in mid-table, but Herbert says he’s happy to take things as he finds them.

“I’ll play until the end of the season (October) then reassess the situation, depending on what might crop up with me,” said Herbert, who has a Commerce and Italian degree, as well as a masters in Corporate Finance and Accounting, both from UCC.

“Travelling would appeal quite a lot, but I don’t think I’ll be staying in Perth. I also see myself working in London at some stage.”

And what of the side he leaves behind? Cork C of I have endured a serious turnover of top-quality players, with a trio of internationals in Herbert, Bruton and Adam Pritchard heading out the exit door in the past 12 months.

Herbert admits he’s a bit worried about the future for a side who have arguably under-achieved in national terms, given the talent at their disposal until recently.

“After every season we kinda say to ourselves, ‘hard luck, next year is our year’. And another year seems to go by… it was kind of the same this year, but people are leaving now and we (C of I) cant really say that anymore,” he explained.

“But in saying that, there’s a lot of young guys coming through. There were five or six schoolboys all pushing very hard for places this year, and often getting them.

“Also, with the youth in the club, the U15 and U16 internationals, they might still be too young for IHL, but there’s definitely something positive there.”

News of the Irish Hockey Association’s plans were revealed in February, and have drawn intense criticism from high-profile figures within the game.

Further Irish success is dependent on centralisation, according to Gene Muller. Picture: HockeyPress Argentina

However, Muller last night explained the rationale behind the idea to base an elite group of players full-time in Dublin for 10 months, in a bid to secure qualification for the 2012 Olympics in London.

“We’re making some drastic changes, and looking at a central programme as of October, to increase our chances and make it a level playing field,” he told RTÉ Radio One last night.

“We’ll be getting all of the players who live outside Dublin  — or as many of them as possible — to relocate.

“We are expecting players to make fairly radical life changes with very little financial compensation. When you suggest something like this, there has to be buy-in from the team. The players realise there is an opportunity that might not present itself again in terms of having an Olympics so close to Ireland.”

“They also know this is a team that’s starting to mature. It wasn’t really a difficult sell; it’s an opportunity that might only present itself once in a player’s career, so you train hard, you make sacrifices.

“It ends up that teams will often succeed or fail at the final hurdle. My thinking, and that of the team, is that increasing training frequency, time together and the physical demands of the team could be our final hurdle, and if we cross it, it might just be enough to get us to London.”

When pressed by RTE’s Darragh Maloney whether he felt the plan would draw more criticism based on Ireland’s World Cup qualification failures in Chile, Muller intimated that it was necessary to challenge the status quo in hockey’s world order.

“It (centralisation) does eat up funding. But in terms of understanding the economics of it, we’ll effectively run a programme off a tenth of what England have. Your choice is to accept the disparity, or move to change it. Whereas countries like England can spend their way to an advantage, we rely on the energy of the players to make up the deficit.

Gene Muller: believes Ireland cannot sit still in their efforts to qualify for the London Olympics in 2012. Picture: Deryck Vincent

He added: “There will always be many opinions regarding a team performance. We under-performed (in Chile) to the extent that we finished third going into a tournament in which we were seeded second.

“But if you look at it comparatively to what’s happening in other countries, the support for Irish sport would be lower than in other countries. The opinions will always be diverse, but if you spend too much time worrying about it, you might get a situation where it paralyses you.

“The one thing our programme has found is ways in which we can empower the team to go forward, and not to be too concerned by the detractors, of which there will always be many.”

Muller went on to praise the contribution of the sports councils on both sides of the border, as well as sponsors ESB, insisting that “they are interested and absorbed with the team’s process, and part of the drive for success is to see these people’s investment pay off”.

He also added that Ireland’s national side had more of a developmental role to play in its athletes’ careers, than might be the case in other countries.

“Hockey in Ireland, compared to other world nations, is fairly small. So the national team is essentially the vehicle for the development of players, its not just the vehicle for the expression of competence.

“In Holland or Australia, the provincial or club system might be good enough to develop a player so they can perform in the national setup. I think in Ireland it’s different, there is a strong development aspect to the programme.

“I think with our standing comparative to other teams, there really is no choice for us. We have to bank on a group of players, and hope to develop them to a point where we can beat teams who are often traditionally stronger than us.”

To listen to the full Gene Muller interview, click here

London native Mick McKinnon, who guided Armagh to six successive promotions before masterminding Railway Union’s first Leinster league title win in 100 years last term, says he is firmly opposed to Muller’s plan to centralise 20 or so athletes in the run-up to the 2011 European Championships.

A top-four finish at that tournament would secure automatic Olympic qualification, and Muller has been busy negotiating with players from Munster and Ulster about potential moves to Dublin, though no policy has yet to be officially put into place.

Mick McKinnon: believes centralisation plan could turn IHL into "a farce". Picture: Adrian Boehm

McKinnon is a former Irish Hockey Association (IHA) employee, having worked as the national body’s first coach development manager from January 2007 to September 2008, as well as spending six years in charge of the Ireland U18 girls side.

However, he argues that Muller’s centralisation plan could have ruinous consequences for club hockey.

“Centralisation basically further diminishes club hockey, which I already suspected was viewed with low regard by Irish Hockey,” he said.

“This would be fine if the IHA’s junior age groups were responsible for developing these players, but as someone who has been involved in these, (I believe) they do not. They merely enhance the talent that the clubs produce.

“Most clubs’ ambitions are to win the Irish Hockey League (IHL) or Irish Senior Cup (ISC), and not to produce players for the national team – that is merely an off-shoot.

“It is no good saying that the players can still play for their home teams; training nine times a week in Dublin and playing in Ballymoney or Cork is not a viable option. Also, it is ridiculous to say that player who don’t centralise won’t be prejudiced against.”

McKinnon added that while his Dublin-based Railway side could potentially benefit from an influx of players to the city, he said he’d be againsy such moves, as they would reduce the IHL to “a farce”.

In a week which saw Basketball Ireland wind up both its men’s and women’s national teams due to a financial crisis, both McKinnon and Belfast Harlequins coach Paddy Grimes have questioned the wisdom and expense of a centralisation plan for Irish hockey in the current climate.

“If centralisation is the way forward,” said McKinnon, “why centralise to the most expensive place to live in Ireland? I would like to stress that this is not an Irish hockey rant. I have been very supportive of Irish hockey in the past and intend to be so in the future.

“There are a lot of good people working for the organisation as both employees and volunteers, but this policy would dis-enfranchise a number of the volunteers in the provinces. If you take away clubs’ ambitions, you take away the enthusiasm of many of the volunteers who have produced the players that they currently want to centralise.”

Grimes described the plan as “a massive monetary investment” that he doesn’t believe is needed.

“Irish Hockey is, in my opinion, on a crash course to disaster.  People must get a reality check and have some realism about where our game is at, and where we can get to in manageable time-frames.”

Muller will no doubt be keen for his side to do their talking on the pitch at the Celtic Cup in Nice, France next week, the squad for which is likely to be announced in the coming days.

Catholic Institute will be hoping history repeats itself almost a quarter of a century on as they face the daunting task of toppling unbackable favorites Cork Church of Ireland in Saturday’s Peard Cup final at Rosbrien (1pm).

The Limerick club’s last appearance in a senior men’s cup final was in 1985, when Eddie Cummins hit the winner against C of I on the grass at Garryduff.

It’s been a barren period for Institute since, and last season they even came close to demoting their first team to Division Two due to the nature of the hammering they were taking in the top tier.

However, it’s been all change at Rosbrien this term; Institute have become a far more difficult side to beat under new coach Ollie O’Connor, as C of I found to their cost back in October.

Simon Brickenden (right) will once again be central to Institute's challenge as they bid to down Cork C of I in the Peard Cup final. Picture courtesy of InstituteHockey.ie

Having put 11 past Institute in the corresponding fixture the previous term, Stephen Jackson’s side this time laboured to a 2-0 victory, with Institute left kicking themselves as seven penalty corner chances went astray.

Since then, Institute have seen off the second string sides of both C of I and Cork Harlequins en route to this decider, though O’Connor is waxing philosophical about his side’s chances in the St Stephen’s Day showdown.

“I know that (on paper) Institutes could not beat C of I firsts,” he explained. “All you have to do is look at their panel, they have numerous internationals and those that aren’t internationals are current senior interpros or underage interpros.

“Compare that to Institute, who have Simon Brickenden, a Munster U21 interpro – how could we possibly beat C of I? But you know what, funny things happen in sport.

“Institute of 2009 have a new discipline about them, and will match C of I in effort and determination; each and every member of the panel will give 100% for 70 minutes or more, if needs be.”

Giving Institute all the more motivation is the decision to play the final in Limerick – “a first division cup final being played in north Munster is a rare occasion”, admitted O’Connor – while it is also the club’s centenary year.

“We have always had good hockey players, the difference this year is we are a little bit more organised on and off the pitch,” he added. “It’s been peaks and troughs all year for us so far; let’s hope we are heading for a peak over Christmas.

“We have three very tough games over the next three weeks – one is this cup final, and there’s also the quarter-final of the Irish Trophy; if we win two out of three we will be very pleased.”

Standing in their way on Saturday is a C of I team that has found real form in recent weeks after a shaky start to the season, notably in the semi-finals of this competition.

That day, talisman John Jermyn hit their first five goals as they raced into a 6-1 lead against a shell-shocked Cork Harlequins side, eventually running out 7-4 winners.

Institute must ensure they minimise the number of corners conceded, so not to allow Jermyn a chance to repeat that haul, though their own attacking prospects have been dented by the unavailability of Spanish hitman Albert Valls.

Peard Cup final: Catholic Institute vs Cork Church of Ireland, Rosbrien, St Stephen’s Day, 1pm.

A baptism of fire it certainly is, but the Déise girls have no interest in shirking the challenges that lie ahead this season, if defender Karen Power’s fighting talk is anything to go by.

“I guess survival would be the primary aim, although having said that we are a team that is used to winning after last year and that is a great habit to be in,” she explains.

Waterford's Paula Guiry shields the ball from C of I's Rebecca Sweetnam and Cathy Kenefick last weekend. Picture: Rachel McSharry

“We are well up for a good battle, and showed plenty of heart and determination last year – we will expect to contest at the very least and won’t be happy without some decent results. At the very least we will strive to earn the respect of our Cork and Limerick counterparts!”

No-one can deny that Waterford’s desire and hunger to re-establish themselves as a force in the top tier is good for the game in Munster, creating as it does a third centre for hockey across the Division One spectrum.

Power is aware of this, and adds that maintaining a team at the highest level is important for hockey in the south-east too, pointing to talents such as Jeamie Deacon, Fiona Bradish and Niamh Herlihy who have left to experience top-level hockey with their college teams.

“It’s a great opportunity for the club to establish themselves as a Division One side again,” says Power. “We have an excellent underage structure with a number of good U14s coming through, so its important for the senior players to try and build for them to aspire to and hopefully come through the ranks.

“We’ve had the problem before of players leaving after school to play with their college teams, so it will certainly be a help if we can boast a Div1 team. We’ve teamed up with WIT to try and develop the sport further in Waterford. It’s also a boost for the club having lost our men’s teams a couple of years ago.

“As I’ve alluded to before we will strive to earn the respect from Munster that we deserve. We are a small club and constantly struggle for numbers both on the pitch and off. We have a committee which does Trojan work to keep the club going and to try and develop the sport, particularly at underage level.

“I think that it’s crucial that Munster sees and recognise the contribution that Waterford makes to (hockey in the province), relative to the size of the club. Last year we had three senior teams playing Munster League and two U14 teams. At times some players played two (even three!) games in a weekend to help make a team, never mind a squad! We also have great numbers at kids hockey, which is run every Sunday morning.”

The Waterford team that played the club's first game in Division one since being promoted last year. Picture courtesy of Karen Power.

But back to more pressing matters; Power feels there were plenty of positives to be taken from last weekend’s Garryduff defeat, despite the comprehensive look of the score-line.

“There were some nerves before the game, but I think all things considered we had a respectable performance and realised that we can in fact hold our own in Division One,” she said.

“We played an organised and well-versed C of I team, while our set-pieces left a lot to be desired. But, again on a positive note that is something that we can easily work on. We’ve had soccer and camogie players finishing seasons so we haven’t had the preparation that we might like with a full team but that will also improve.

“I’d say (it was) a wake-up call, and we know what we need to do. By all accounts we’ll have our work cut out at Harlequins next week but if nothing else we’ll be up for the challenge!”

The senior ladies of Cork Harlequins know this feeling only too well, as they go in search of a 15th consecutive Munster league crown; no-one wants to be associated with the team that fails to keep the run going.

On the flipside, it certainly serves as a fine motivating factor. Quins were pushed harder than ever last season by UCC, who did the double them over the league and finished the regulation campaign on level points at the top of the pile.

But come title playoff time, it was Quins who shone; a nerveless 3-2 victory proved they were still Munster’s masters.

New Cork Harlequins coach Eddie Gash (centre), with manager Robert O'Sullivan and fitness coach John Moloney. Picture: Rachel McSharry

You’d think, therefore, that for an incoming coach, such a backdrop – not to mention an aging squad – would represent a daunting challenge. But Eddie Gash, on board as a replacement for Clive Seale in the dugout, is looking at the bigger picture.

Gash sees a side that is “in transition, to a certain degree”, and his top priority is ensuring Quins build a side good to enough to achieve down the line as well as in the present. Given the age profile of the Quins team, that will mean blooding plenty of youngsters this season, but it’s a challenge he appears comfortable with.

“We’ve had a settled squad for the last couple of years, but this season there’s a bit of a turnover, which necessitates bringing in some players to the club and (promoting) talented younger players,” he explains.

“I’ve watched the team closely over the last couple of years, and I’ve worked with a lot of the junior players at interpro level, so maybe I’m in a good position to facilitate that transfer of some of the younger players into the squad.”

Gash certainly has a firm handle on who’s who in the schools and underage scene in the province, cutting his coaching teeth as he has with the Munster U16 girls interpro team as well as winning a Munster Senior Schoolgirls Cup with Bandon Grammar last term.

That means looking to continue the upward mobility of Leanne Mullins, Yvonne O’Byrne, Emily O’Leary and Jennifer Murphy, who all saw first-team action last season.

Gash has also pulled off a notable coup in securing the services of this season’s Munster U18 co-captain, Thurles girl Edwina McGrath, while the younger duo of Leanne Mullins and Acacia Taylor are names to watch in the coming seasons. And Gash is already seeing the upside of putting faith in youth.

“When the younger players come up to train it adds a bit of spice and challenges the more established players,” he says. “And they in turn are learning so much from the older ones in terms of skills and attitude to training. It’s a great environment to coach in.”

Certainly, Quins are by no means about to abandon their silverware ambitions to give youth its head just yet; no team with 300-plus caps worth of international experience in the form of Eimear Cregan, Karen Bateman and Cliodhna Sargent down its spine would have that.

But their coach forsees increased competitiveness this year, on both the domestic and national fronts, particularly with international commitments likely to curtail Cregan and Sargent’s involvement week-in, week-out.

Leanne Mullins is one of a number of highly-regarded youngsters at Quins who will be looking to see more first-team action this season. Picture: Adrian Boehm

“It’s going to be a very difficult league this year, which will make it exciting for the players and for me as well,” says Gash. “You see Bandon reaching a Munster Senior Cup final, C of I are always very strong and organised, UCC of course took Quins to a playoff last year, and hockey in Limerick is getting stronger – there are a lot of underage internationals coming out of there.”

Having surprised everyone except themselves by reaching the Irish Hockey League playoff stage last year, presumably that competition is also a priority?

“We’re in quite a difficult pool, in that a lot of teams will fancy their chances,” admits Gash. “Having won Leinster last year, Railway would be favourites to progress, there’s another difficult away trip to Ballymoney, plus a local rivalry with C of I to add a bit of spice to it.”

Only recently retired from playing at the top level himself, Gash knows what it takes to win; he is one of a select group in Munster to have an Irish Senior Cup medal from the modern era, that success coming with Quins in 2006.

Despite admitting the head coach’s role at Quins has come around sooner than he thought, Gash says he’s looking forward to challenging himself and his players this season. All in Munster will be keen to see how he gets on.

Last term proved to be a turbulent one for the Ballincollig-based club. On the men’s side, years of being hammered by the big clubs and a high rate of player turnover saw the first team demote themselves to Division Two.

They were subsequently followed by the ladies’ first XI, who were relegated during the regulation season, having picked up just five points in 14 games.

Lady luck wasn’t on their side – Ashton had finished bottom of the pile the previous term, but stayed up as no team from Division Two wished to be promoted. But next time around, a Waterford side eager to eat at the top table won out in the second tier, and Belvedere had to take their medicine.

Belvedere's new coach Bryan O'Donovan with his wife Anne, a former captain and one of the side's key players as they begin life in Division Two.

The club therefore finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being without a team in the top tier of either the men’s or women’s leagues, but new coach O’Donovan sees plenty of reasons for optimism.

“A tough season was had last year, having lost eight players from the season before,” he explains. “Demotion, while never pleasant, is probably a good thing, to help rebuild our squad and improve the confidence of our ladies.

“The mood in Belvedere is optimistic, and we are looking forward to working on building a squad, from our core group of players and hopefully attracting new ones who would like the challenge of getting our ladies back up to the premier division over the next few years.”

O’Donovan, who has been coaching at the club since 2005, says he places a great emphasis on team-work with all his sides, and is looking forward to blending youth and experience.

While numbers continue to be a problem on the men’s side at the club, Belvedere mirror a healthier general trend on the girls side, despite not having a traditional feeder school, with Coláiste Choilm and Mount Mercy in particular providing a steady stream of players.

“My aims are to perform as well as possible in Division Two, and hopefully be a difficult team to compete against,” offers O’Donovan.

“Morale would be one of the most important aspects to work on; I believe confidence is very important and when a player lacks it, it can affect their game. I want to build a squad that has a strong will to win, but also work on fitness and skills.”

O’Donovan is complimentary of the youth work that is ongoing in the club, while he also notes that the club may be able to exploit the popularity of camogie and soccer among girls in Ballincollig, given hockey is played in the off-season for both sports.

There’s a significant carrot for the squad further afield, with all now eligible for the Munster junior side, while on a national level, the club have every reason to be confident of having a serious crack at the Irish Challenge. In any case, O’Donovan is looking to the future with a smile on his face.

“Short-term, I would look to attracting possibly experienced players who may not want to play senior level any more with their current club, and combine these players with our existing squad and youths,” he says.

“Long-term, we aim to regain premier division status, be it one year or five years, but when this happens I hope to have the team who can compete against the larger clubs in Munster.”

Having won five trophies from a possible six domestically during a two-year stint at the helm of Cork Church of Ireland, Welch vacated the hotseat at Garryduff at the end of the 2007/08 season.

Now, in one of the most eyebrow-raising coups of the summer, he’s back patrolling the touchlines, this time with College, a challenge he’s looking forward to meeting head-on.

“My interest in this is that it’s a different kind of job, completely and utterly,” he says.

UCC's Brendan Woods in action against Trinity at last year's intervarsities. College will be looking for an improved performance this time around under new coach Neil Welch. Picture: Adrian Boehm

“(With C of I), you’re coming in with a huge amount of international players and you’re trying to just tinker a little with it, whereas this is probably more of a complete start-up scenario; that’s the way I’d look at it anyway. We’re trying to put good practices in place, and see where we go from there.

“The College thing suits because you’re working with a lot of younger guys, I’d know the majority of them anyway and it’s just fresh. I’m excited about it, because it’s starting from a lower level (than C of I), they just came back into Division One last year, so you’re looking to see can you build on that.”

Attracting players to give college hockey a crack during the period they are eligible to do so is a vexing question for those involved. But Denis Pritchard and Paidi Hartnett have proved it can be done, transforming the UCC women’s side from also-rans to one of the top outfits in the province in recent years.

Welch takes charge of his first training session tonight, knowing it will be another few weeks before the composition of his squad is fully known, but has forthright views on the kind of team he wants to build.

“The difficulty for College, from an outsider’s point of view, is that they probably haven’t been able to attract enough players at the same time to make it an easy decision for someone who might be borderline,” he reasoned.

“There are players who are obviously talented enough, and the temptation might be to go into an enlarged panel at Quins or C of I and take their chances; the clubs have been so successful, you’re getting exposure, you’re playing IHL, Irish Senior Cup, you could be lucky and fall into it.

“But the downside for some of those players is they might never quite get there, and from their own point of view, development-wise, it’s a problem. Yes, they’re training at a high level, but they’re not getting pitch time.

“If you do get a higher calibre of player into College, some of the other peripheral guys might say ‘Hang on a sec, these guys are decent first-team standard players’ (and follow suit).”

UCC's women have been transformed into one of the best sides in the province in recent years, a feat the men's team will be hoping to emulate. Picture: Eoin Tyrrell

Welch, himself a former Ireland U21 and Schools international, adds that balancing young starlets with more experienced players will be an important part of his remit, citing club captain John Catchpole as one of the latter.

While admitting that UCC has the potential to become “Munster’s third power”, he adds that his initial priority is to make a side that won just once in 12 league outings last season more competitive.

“It’s about getting structures in place, working with the players and seeing how much they want to put into it,” he says.

“What I’d like is to get them to a situation where it’s competitive all the time, and they’re physically up to scratch – there’s no reason on this earth as to why they can’t be as fit in anyone else in Munster, certainly. But you’re looking for a bit of luck too; in cup draws you’ll hope to be at home, avoid the big two and take your chances from there.

“But a lot of it will be down to confidence with the lads, winning is a habit and so is losing. If you’re competing well you always have a chance, but if you go out and you’re disorganised, you’re not fit enough, then you haven’t got a prayer. Whatever we can influence, we will.

“We’re being absolutely transparent in what we’re trying to do, you’d just be hoping players will respond to it. It has to be player-driven too; it’s much easier to coach when players are enthusiastic, turning up before time, coming up with ideas, there’s a flow of information both ways.

“The last thing you want is where you’re expected to dictate everything – that can’t happen, it’s got to be about their ideas and interests, they’re the ones on the pitch, you’re just trying to steer them the right way.”

Coming soon: more interviews with the coaches taking up new posts for 2009/10

The 21-year-old Cork C of I forward is following a path well-worn by some of his Irish international team-mates by pitching up at the Fremantle Magpies in Perth. He left Ireland on Wednesday – and will miss the Irish Hockey Awards, where he is nominated in the Senior Club Player of the Year category, as a result – and will play for the majority of the Australian season, which runs until September.

Phelie and Michael Maguire have both spent time at the club, while Peter Blakeney was a rousing success during his time there, getting selected for the state side, the Western Australia Thundersticks, picking up an Australian Hockey League medal and scoring five goals in that tournament the process.

C of I's Jonny Bruton will begin a new career in Australia with Fremantle Magpies, for whom Three Rock's Phelie Maguire (left) has played for in the past. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Bruton will link up with his new team-mates – who lie second in the AHG table with four wins from five games – next month, but took the time to tell Southern Fried about his adventure down under before he left, admitting the move is just as much about seeing the world as furthering his hockey career.

“To be honest I need a break from Ireland, and Perth has good weather, beaches galore and the lads tell me it’s a great hockey club,” he said. “It will be a great experience for me to play with top players – I’m excited, and playing with Fremantle ties in with exactly what I wanted, so I’m delighted with it.

“I checked it out myself first, then asked Michael (Maguire) loads about it when we were training recently. He and Phelie said the setup was brilliant and the facilities are great, all of them seemed to recommend it.”

While Bruton says he was initially pointed in the direction of the Melville club by Irish hockey’s high performance director Dave Passmore, he chose Fremantle on the basis that they were willing to get him set up before he ever set foot on a plane. He also leaves with the blessing of current Irish coach Paul Revington.

“(Revington) said he’d help me out if I needed recommendations,” he says. “I didn’t know about it, but Fremantle had already sussed me out, they got onto (fellow Irishman and former Fremantle player) Cliff Bailey who got in touch with Andy Chambers at C of I, looking to see what kind of player I was. It does help; you need to be confident about it, I’d be scared to be going over there playing hockey if I wasn’t confident.”

As a pacy forward with a penchant for the spectacular, Bruton is also visibly excited about Fremantle’s reputation for attacking hockey. This is borne out by their results thus far this season; they have hit 23 goals in five games, and having tasted Revington’s preference for playing the game offensively in the Irish camp, Bruton is raring to sample it in Oz.

“I’ve heard the style they play is very attacking, they basically skip midfield and go straight to the forwards so that will suit me down to the ground,” he says.

Bruton scored on his Irish debut against Scotland last November (above) but inists he leaves for Oz with the blessing of national coach Paul Revington. Picture: Adrian Boehm

“The new Irish coach is beginning to really suit me, he’s playing very attacking stuff. At the training camp in Alicante I liked his style; his theories are all about attacking at the first opportunity.

“That will help people gravitate towards the sport as well; I don’t want to be criticising too much, but knocking it around the back and waiting for opportunities (isn’t ideal), whereas this style of play will be so much more exciting for people to watch.

“The defenders aren’t going to be sitting deep; with the auto-pass rule you can move the ball straight away. The old Irish style of play was to get it into midfield, who would bounce it back and wait for the next opportunity, but now it’s more about ‘turn and go’. You don’t want to be giving up possession too easily either, but in Alicante we did a lot of work about how to get the ball forward.”

Bruton’s enthusiasm about Revington’s impact on the Irish setup also raises an important question. As an established member of the Ireland A squad, is heading off into the sunset going to jeopardise his Irish place, given the South African gave him his first cap against Scotland last November? Bruton waxes philosophical on the issue.

“That had a lot to do with my thoughts regarding whether I’d go to Australia or not; you’re thinking, ‘Am I going to ruin my chances?’. But it’s also got to do with life experience; hockey isn’t everything to me. I just tied the hockey in with the travelling,” he explains.

“It probably will affect my chances a bit because there will be up-and-coming players who get a look in throughout the year ahead of me while I’m away. But the coach is looking for players to go away and play, get a different view of things, and he’s delighted I’m going. I’ll keep in contact with him throughout the year and see how things are progressing.”

And what of the team-mates he leaves behind? Despite claiming a third straight Munster league title, C of I flattered to deceive on the national stage, where they crave success the most.

They looked odds-on for an Irish Hockey League semi-final place before pressing the self-destruct button against Three Rock at Grange Road, while hopes of a first Irish Senior Cup since 1999 were dashed early on when eventual winners Pembroke Wanderers won a scrappy clash at Garryduff 2-1.

Bruton fired one of the goals of the season that day – an unstoppable reverse into the top corner from the top of the circle – but insists C of I can end their famine on the national stage in his absence.

Peter Blakeney (centre) in action for Fremantle last season. The Dubliner also won the Austrlian Hockey League with the state team, the Western Australia Thundersticks.

“We’ve always said we’re a young team but we’ve never really fulfilled that…but the Hobbsys, the Jermyns, Burnsy and Ruddle still have a good few years left in them to win something,” he offers.

“I do believe we still have it in us; we challenged in the IHL but then just seemed to crumble. We get blamed a lot up front because we don’t win enough (frees and corners) – but I’d like to see Hobbsy or Jermyn playing up front.

“(Having said that), we’re over-reliant on them and we can’t just wait for them to do things. Look at the likes of Pembroke, they rely on everyone, and they have a great squad; four trophies tells its own story, it’s incredible.”

Nonetheless, for now Bruton will be hoping that Irish hockey’s love affair with Perth can continue; either way, he is sure to return to Garryduff in 2010 with plenty more strings to his bow.