Upton over injury funk to lead Ireland’s World Cup bid

Roisin Upton is hoping to make up for lost time with the Irish women’s team as they look to land a 2018 World Cup spot over the course of the next two weeks.

Ireland start their World League semi-final campaign on Saturday morning against Japan in Johannesburg in the first of four group games with Olympic medalists Germany and England also on the agenda, either side of a must-win tie against Poland.

Ireland earned their place at the top table with a devastating performance at World League Round 2 in Malaysia in January, sweeping to six wins, scoring 39 times and conceding just once. Such performances have raised hopes they can qualify for a major event for the first time since 2002.