Diane Caldwell: 'It will be very difficult to get out of that league on a part-time basis' 

Reading is her eleventh club in a career that has taken her to half-a-dozen different countries and the team’s struggles on the pitch were exacerbated for her by a season which saw her miss as much game time as she managed to bank.

NEWLY WED: Diane Caldwell joined up with her Irish teammates late due to her wedding in Skiathos to Mona Lohmann. Pic:©INPHO/Ben Brady

World Cups stand like skyscrapers in a rural village. All-Irelands, Wimbledon and golf’s majors all tend to diminish and squat in their shadows but life still goes on even as Vera Pauw’s extended squad prepares for their opening game against hosts Australia in five weeks’ time.

So, while the Republic of Ireland squad got their tournament preparations up and running last Wednesday, it was Thursday evening before Diane Caldwell flew in and reported for duty after her wedding on the small Greek island of Skiathos.