Munster players fearful as Cork cut from Irish training centres

Munster hockey players harbouring international ambitions were left reeling after it emerged that regional training for the Irish international men’s squad will no longer take place in Cork.

Coach Andrew Meredith announced squads for “intensive training centres” (ITCs) in Dublin and Belfast this week. However, such sessions will no longer be held in Cork, as they were under the previous regime, and only a handful of Munster-born players have been called into the Dublin panel.

Cork Church of Ireland have groomed the majority of those players who feel their chances of breaking into the Irish setup will be affected, and their manager Barry Crowley believes standards will suffer. “Our players are disappointed that it seems there will be no regional training in Munster this year,” said Crowley.