China end Ireland's World Cup hopes

The Irish women’s hockey team’s hopes of making the World Cup Finals were shattered this afternoon.

They suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to top seeds China in their crossover game at the qualifying tournament in Rome today, meaning China advance to contest the play off for the final World Cup spot.

Ireland play for 7th/8th and valuable world ranking points tomorrow at 7pm Irish time.

Irish coach Reit Kuper said: "My honest feeling is that China were excellent today, and we just couldn't cope with them; their speed and physical pressure on the field, they stepped up their game remarkably today, and scored superb goals."