Hockey Ireland have announced the Ireland Women’s Hockey squad which will travel to Durban in South Africa at the end of March. A 21-player squad has been selected for an eight match tour which will feature games against China, South Africa and Japan.
Ulster’s Megan Frazer is set to return to the Irish set-up after being ruled out previously due to a niggling knee-injury. The injury kept her out of the 2018 World Cup final defeat to the Netherlands and also made her unavailable for the Olympic play-offs against Canada last November.
Ireland were set to travel to Malaysia next month to acclimatise to the humid conditions expected in Tokyo. Plans have changed due to concerns over the coronavirus. Ireland will travel back to South Africa where they spent their last training camp in January.
Landed safe & sound in SA with the first session done to get some travel outta the legs. 2 more trainings before our first game against SA tomorrow afternoon! #chaseit #greenarmy #olympicprep pic.twitter.com/QLIt8o1C5C
— Green Army (@IreWomenHockey) January 18, 2020
Uncapped 19-year old goalkeeper Ellie McLoughlin is also included in the squad whilst Naomi Carroll and Ali Meeke both also make their return to the squad.
Like Frazer, Carroll has been troubled by injury of late while Meeke was not included in the play-offs against Canada. Chloe Watkins has not been selected after undergoing minor surgery.
Speaking on the announcement Head Coach, Sean Dancer, said, “We have selected a very balanced squad for our South Africa tour.”
“This will be an important period for us, not just for team performance but also exposure to humid conditions.”
"We are looking forward to seeing Megan Frazer return to competition after a long rehab period, and the un-capped addition of Ellie McLoughlin in our environment.”
In Japan, Ireland's first match is against South Africa on 25 July and their other group opponents will be Germany, Great Britain, India, South Africa and world and European champions, the Netherlands.
Squad Selected:
| Selection | PLAYER NAME | REGION | POSITION | AGE | CAPS |
| 1 | Ayeisha McFerran | Ulster | Goal Keeper | 23 | 96 |
| 2 | Roisin Upton | Munster | Defender / MF | 25 | 70 |
| 3 | Nikki Evans | Leinster | Striker | 29 | 191 |
| 4 | Kathryn Mullan (Captain) | Ulster | MF / Striker | 25 | 186 |
| 5 | Shirley McCay | Ulster | Defender | 31 | 299 |
| 6 | Megan Frazer | Ulster | Def / MF / Str | 28 | 136 |
| 7 | Elana Tice | Leinster | Defender | 21 | 102 |
| 8 | Gillian Pinder | Leinster | Midfielder | 27 | 164 |
| 9 | Beth Barr | Ulster | Defender | 24 | 20 |
| 10 | Lizzie Colvin | Ulster | Midfielder | 29 | 189 |
| 11 | Nicola Daly | Leinster | MF / Striker | 31 | 189 |
| 12 | Hannah Matthews | Leinster | Defender | 28 | 140 |
| 13 | Sarah Hawkshaw | Leinster | MF / Striker | 22 | 26 |
| 14 | Anna O’Flanagan (Vice Captain) | Leinster | MF / Striker | 29 | 201 |
| 15 | Zoe Wilson | Ulster | Defender / MF | 22 | 103 |
| 16 | Ellen Curran | Leinster | Midfielder | 20 | 19 |
| 17 | Alison Meeke | Leinster | Def / MF / Str | 28 | 145 |
| 18 | Ellie McLoughlin | Leinster | Goal Keeper | 19 | Uncapped |
| 19 | Hannah McLoughlin | Leinster | Def / MF / Str | 20 | 10 |
| 20 | Sarah Torrans | Leinster | Striker | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Naomi Carroll | Munster | Striker | 26 | 111 |
