Eakins answers Harlequins’ London calling to return for semi-final clash
Almost exactly a year ago, on March 17, David Eakins stood in the crowd at the National Hockey Arena in Belfield trying to cope with wildly-differing emotions.
On the one hand he was a delighted fan celebrating Cork Harlequins first ever victory in the Irish Senior Cup; on the other, he was a frustrated player, knowing he should have been part of the team which had created history.
“I’d moved to England to study the previous September,” he recalls. “It seemed there was no way I could commute. The upshot of it all I was I missed out on a cup medal.
“While it was an emotional day for the club, I was very disappointed at missing out.
“I discussed it with the lads and they all felt this was a very experienced team and still had a few good years left in it, so I resolved to do everything I could to play with Quins this year,” Eakins says.
Based in London and in the second of a four-year course studying osteopathy, it has not been easy to be fully committed in the club’s bid to retain the Irish Senior Cup.
“The club have been very cooperative and have helped me fly back for the big games. I train with Hampstead and Westminster club in London and they work to a very high standard because they play in the Premier League.”
Eakins says that having originally worked in the IT sector and also done a course in electronic engineering, he decided to change tack a few years back.
“Osteopathy was something I always wanted to practice, but I had to go to England. I’m now in the middle of the course and this year I’ve been lucky enough to combine study and playing with Quins.”
Eakins says that Harlequins have not played their best hockey yet and inconsistency performances have plagued them in the competition.
“We didn’t have it easy in the earlier rounds against C of I and Banbridge, but we came through without playing to our potential. So now we want to reach our peak and we will have to be at our best form to beat Glenanne.
“If our previous cup encounters are any gauge, this will be a very physical match. We’ve met three times in recent years — all in Dublin — and we only won one. It would be nice to even the score.”
Eakins, who scored in the 3-1 win over Banbridge in the quarter-final, says that the Dublin outfit are strong throughout the pitch and apart from established internationals like Stephen Butler and Graham Shaw, Glenanne have plenty of other talent.
“The likes of John Goulding and Gary Shaw (one of three brothers in the side) are very good players and I’ve no doubt we will have to be at our best to beat them.”
For now, though, David Eakins is just focused on getting Harlequins to the final and winning the medal he missed out on last year.
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