Hockey: Darren Smith reveals World League 2 squad

Ireland’s senior women have moved into their final phase of preparation for their Olympic qualification campaign after selecting their squad for next month’s World League 2 yesterday.

Coach Darren Smith named 17 players in his panel for the competition — which takes place on home turf in Dublin from March 14 to March 22 — with either Yvonne O’Byrne (Cork Harlequins) or Ali Meeke (Loreto) set to take the final berth, pending Meeke’s recovery from a broken hand.

Of the 23 who travelled to Spain for warm weather training in January, goalkeeper Stella Davis, Emily Beatty, Deirdre Duke and Chloe Brown are the players who miss out.

Loreto’s Lizzie Colvin, who returned last month after a nightmare 17-month layoff with a cruciate ligament injury, has done enough to force her way in.

Ireland will also be without retired former captain Alex Speers, while penalty corner specialist Audrey O’Flynn switched codes late last year, signing a rugby sevens contract with the IRFU.

The theme of sporting cross-pollination continues with the presence of former Dublin ladies footballer Nicci Daly and Clare dual star Naomi Carroll in Smith’s panel.

Ireland will face Ukraine, Canada and Turkey in the initial phases of the competition, with coach Smith name-checking the first two nations — plus Chile and Belarus on the other side of the draw — as serious threats to Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for World League 3.

They will need a top two finish in Dublin to achieve that, and as the highest-ranked side in the tournament (world number 14) and with home advantage, any other outcome would be disastrous, with Olympic berths only up for grabs in World League 3.

Smith’s reign got off to a rocky start with Ireland falling at the World League 2 hurdle in early 2013, but since then they have proven themselves capable of beating higher-ranked opposition on a more regular basis, notably when reaching the final of the 2014 Champions Challenge I in Glasgow having been ranked second-lowest of the eight participating teams.

IRELAND senior women’s squad for World League 2, Dublin (March 14-22): N Carroll (Catholic Institute), L Colvin (Loreto), A Connery (Hermes), N Daly (Loreto), K Dillon (Railway Union), N Evans (UCD), M Frazer (Ulster Elks, capt), E Gray (GK, Hermes), H Matthews (Loreto), S McCay (Ulster Elks), A McFerran (GK, Pegasus), K Mullan (UCD), A O’Flanagan (UCD), G Pinder (UCD), C Sargent (Cork Harlequins, vice-capt), E Smyth (Railway Union), C Watkins (UCD), Y O’Byrne (Cork Harlequins) / A Meeke (Loreto) — pending injury recovery.