Draws made for European championships

Ireland’s men will take on Belarus, Russia and Italy as they attempt to bounce back to the top tier of European hockey at the first attempt at the EuroHockey Nations Trophy in Wrexham, Wales next August.

Despite boasting the best defensive record at last year’s Nations Championships, a shock 1-0 defeat to France saw them relegated to the Trophy event, something new coach Paul Revington will be keen to put right immediately.

Stephen Butler: Won't be departing the international scene anytime soon. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Revington will have already built up a decent dossier on the Russians by the time the tournament rolls around, as Ireland have also been drawn against them in the preceding Champions Challenge II tournament.

The Irish Hockey Association (IHA) is set to discover in the coming weeks whether their bid to host the tournament has been successful, with Italy and Chile also believed to have applied.

Ireland are top seeds at the Nations Trophy, and will be expected to progress to a final where Scotland — a side Ireland defeated three times last month — are favourites to meet themadvance from the other side of the draw.

The Irish women have avoided Olympic champions the Netherlands in their Nations Championship pool, but must still contend with hockey powerhouses Spain and Germany, with Scotland completing the group.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s most capped current player, Stephen Butler, says his desire to help propel Ireland to the finals of a major tournament remains undimmed.

A slew of retirements since thelast February’s failed Olympic qualification bidtournament has left the 28-year-old Butler and his Glenanne clubmate Graham Shaw as the Irish squad’s elder statesmen.

However, Butler — also Ireland’s record goalscorer — told Southern Fried he has no intention of winding up his international career anytime soon.

“I’ll be 32 at the next Olympics — if I get that far! — but most international players peak between 29 and 32,” he said.

“I’ve said it before to the team, I think we’re all the same — we haven’t made a major tournament yet, and we all want to do it; the World Cup is my major goal.”

Butler added that new Irish coach Revington has already left a positive impression on him.

“I think he’s going to freshen it up, he will be a huge benefit to Irish hockey and will help both the experienced players and the younger ones,” he said.

“Paul is the right man to take the next steps. He’s only 35, but maybe that’s a good thing; like Arul (Anthoni, Glennane coach) he’s very energetic and I’m sure he’ll make a great impression on the lads.”

Elsewhere, the Irish Hockey League committee has set Sunday, December 14 as the date for postponedrefixed games, after six of the 12 matches at the weekend fell victim to the cold weather.

The committee has also confirmed that the Ireland U18 boys trial, scheduled for the same day, has been postponed as a result, and that the abandoned matches between Cookstown and Annadale, and Monkstown and Lisnagarvey, will be replayed in their entirety.

The news will come as no comfort to Annadale in particular — they were 4-1 up against Ulster champions Cookstown before the umpires called a haltwell into the third quarter at Coolnafranky on Saturday.

While EuroHockey League rules — which the IHL is based on — state that abandoned matches should be resumed from where they were stopped, this is based on games being resumed during the same weekend, where squads are together in one place.

The two-week gap between the refixtures — and possibility for movements in and out of squads in the meantime — dictates that the IHL games be replayed in full.