29 October 2019

Ireland hockey face Canada this weekend in winner-takes-all Olympic qualifier

Ireland hockey face Canada this weekend in their Olympic qualifier and head coach Sean Dancer has said he has prepared the team for all the "what if" moments.

Dancer is hoping to avoid the heartbreak the Irish men's team felt after they lost to Canada in a shoot-out last weekend.

He said: “We just try and cover as many of those ‘what ifs’ as possible.

“I suppose you need to take out the positives and [imagine] we are behind with a couple of minutes to go, we know there’s going to be opportunities to stay in it. 

“We’ll be under no illusion, with a couple of minutes to go if we’re winning the game, we still have to keep playing.”

The match will be played at Donnybrook stadium, the home of Leinster rugby. A Polytan Carpet surface has been laid at the ground, the synthetic surface is a pop-up and won't damage the rugby ground beneath it.

The temporary surface was something that was trialled at the Twickenham Stoop in London for Great Britain's FIH Pro League.

The home of Irish Women's Six Nations rugby has a capacity of 6,000 and the side have sold-out the ground for the double header this weekend. Dancer's side will play two back-to-back games on November 2-3.

Dancer added: “We just want to get out there and play now. The sooner it comes around for us, the better.

“It’s certainly a positive playing at home and having 6,000 people all supporting us and cheering as loud as they can.

"They’re a great group of girls to work with. We’ve certainly been progressing well and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it so far.”

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