Irish men aim to grab chance

THE odds mightn’t favour them, but Ireland’s senior men are determined to make the most of an opportunity to qualify for a major tournament for the first time over the coming eight days.

Paul Revington’s side are in Quilmes, Argentina for a World Cup qualifying campaign which gets underway tomorrow against the USA (4.05pm Irish time).

With just one qualification spot on offer, the Irish can’t slip up, and must get positive results against Belgium and the hosts, who are both ranked higher than 18th-placed Ireland.

If their performances so far under Revington are anything to go by, they will not be going into this tournament with a conservative mindset.

Alan Sothern, Eugene Magee and Michael Watt are all top-drawer finishers and will be heavily relied on from play, while Sothern also backs up veterans John Jermyn and Stephen Butler in an impressive drag-flicking unit.

On the downside, Ireland’s preparations have hardly been ideal; the last-minute loss of vice-captain David Hobbs and Joe Brennan to injury hasn’t helped, while Belgium in particular look to have had a longer and more intense build-up.

Ireland take on the USA first up before meeting Chile less than 24 hours, and will hope to have maximum points from both going into Tuesday’s encounter with the Belgians.

The Irish came out on the wrong side of high-scoring tussles when they met in friendlies last summer, but they will be keen to make amends.

The Czech Republic are next up, before Ireland face down Argentina in a match-up in which there has been little love lost in recent years.

The hosts won’t lack for motivation, having lost 1-0 to the Irish on the Olympic qualification trail in 2008, and the prospect of a winner-takes-all tie could add to the intrigue.

The domestic league campaigns have been interrupted this weekend due to postponements, while the men of Pembroke Wanderers and Glenanne have three weeks off due to the high volume of their players on Irish duty.

UCC’s clash with Bandon provides the highlight, with the latter hoping to quell the belief among the students that they can dislodge the west Cork side as Munster’s third-best team.

Catholic Institute and Cork Harlequins will be expected to extend their perfect records against Ashton and Waterford respectively, while the local derby between Quins and UCC at Farmer’s Cross (12.15pm) should provide the highlight of the first round of the women’s Irish Junior Cup.