Irish potential something of a ‘curiosity’ admits Muller

THE Irish women’s hockey team open their Eurohockey Nations Championship campaign under new coach Gene Muller in Manchester today (Sat.) against host nation England. Declan Colley reports.

Although he has had six months to work with his new charges since he took over the coaching reins of the Irish senior women’s hockey side from Riet Kuper, Gene Muller admits that the potential of the side is something of a “curiosity.”

The genial South African, who came to the Irish job after spells as coach to the South African national women’s team and the Canadian national men’s side, has seen both sides of the coaching coin and has achieved success in situations where on one hand he had almost unlimited playing resources and, on the other, virtually none.