Irish arrive in Nice for Celtic Cup clashes

IRELAND’S senior women’s squad touched down in Nice, France yesterday ahead of this weekend’s Celtic Cup tournament, knowing many are in the last-chance saloon as they bid to secure a place in the squad for next month’s World Cup qualifier in Chile.

With a test series against Italy over Easter the last set of preparation matches for the trip to South America, a number of players will view this tournament as their final chance to convince national coach Gene Muller of their worth.

Chief among them is UCC skipper Audrey O’Flynn, who earned her first cap against Belgium earlier this year and is handed another chance to compete for a defensive berth in a squad that boasts an average of 63 caps.

Cork Harlequins’ Cliodhna Sargent and Alex Speers – who is back with Pegasus after a stint with the Dragons in Belgium – return to the fold after missing last week’s uncapped three-game series with Great Britain through injury.

Muller must, however, do without UCC midfielder Julia O’Halloran, who misses out due to study commitments, but is confident the clashes with Scotland and France will provide him with some answers as regards the make-up of the squad for Chile.

“This will be a tough tournament and an ideal preparation event for us,” he said.

“We have had some very tough matches against Scotland in recent times, and France have improved to a level that sees them well prepared for their World Cup qualification event.

“We have not decided on a World Cup qualification team yet so this is a chance for players to stake a claim for the qualifiers in April.”

The Celtic Cup normally takes place during the summer months, but the tournament was brought forward three months to accommodate the World Cup qualifiers.

However, the competition will go ahead without Wales, who have, mysteriously, decided to withdraw from the competition.

Ireland’s primary concern at this tournament must surely be to get back on the goalscoring trail – they have lost all five of the games played in 2010, finding the net just once in the process.

IRELAND women’s squad for Celtic Cup (Nice, France): M Goode (GK, Bray), L Healy (GK, Loreto); R Flinn (Old Alex), C Sargent (Cork Harlequins), E Cregan (Catholic Institute), E Clarke (Leicester), E Stewart (Armagh), B Cleland (Ballymoney), S McCay (Dragons), A O’Flynn (UCC), A Speers (Pegasus), R Mulligan (Armagh), N Symmons (Loreto), E Smyth (Railway Union), L Colvin (Loreto), L Jacob (UCD), N Small (Loreto), M Harvey (Pegasus).

Friday: Ireland vs France (1pm Irish time); Sunday: Ireland vs Scotland (9am Irish time).