Cole believes experienced Ireland can ‘Take on the best in the World’
Take yourself back to the 4th of August of this year, the day that Irish Women’s Hockey broke out onto the scene. It was a shootout victory over Spain that propelled Ireland to a World Cup Final. Now it’s the Men’s turn, who start their World Cup campaign on Friday. It’s an excited bunch of players out in India at the moment, none more so than former Monkstown defender, Lee Cole.
Cole, who played both Hockey and Cricket for Ireland at underage level, had to make a very difficult decision in his late teens about what avenue to go down. Cole chose Hockey and has never looked back. “Deciding between the two was a very difficult decision and one that I did not take lightly. I went with my gut and I have no regrets in terms of my decision,” said Cole. Cole has already registered 61 caps for the national side so his decision seems to have been well justified. Cricket’s loss has been Irish hockey’s gain.
However, Cole narrowly missed out on the Rio Olympics Squad in 2016. Not one to squander in disappointment, Cole saw it as an opportunity to better himself as a player. He made the decision to leave boyhood club, Monkstown, for a trip to the Belgian league and joined Royal Oreé. Cole is in the middle of his second season with the Belgian club and feels the switch to full time hockey has helped his game massively. “I 100% feel that moving abroad has improved my game. The benefits of playing full time and being able to concentrate on your game are massive,” said Cole. He added “a huge number of the players in the league are playing full time and can devote themselves solely to hockey.”
After being overlooked for Rio, it was then of great joy when he heard the news that he was selected for this World Cup. A mixture of delight and excitement was the immediate feelings for Cole. He stressed how getting picked to play for your country was never something “you can’t take for granted”. “It will be an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life”, added Cole.
The squad itself has gone through a big warm-up for the tournament, adamant to make sure that no stone is left unturned. Since September, the squad has been getting together for many group sessions both in Ireland and abroad. This has allowed the squad to optimise in different conditions and get used to different surroundings. Therefore the team shouldn’t be affected by the climate that India provides, “the support staff we have is second to none and will provide us with everything we need in order to be able to excel in any conditions,” said Cole.
However, the sessions have not only allowed this Irish team to experience different climates, but also to try create the amount of physicality the team will need in terms of output throughout the tournament. The games come thick and fast and therefore fitness is not only needed, but a necessity. Cole said that they “simulated the amount of physical output that we may be subjected to during the tournament like back to back games. Training in these conditions is vital for optimising our chances of performing at the World Cup.” Nothing has been left to chance.
Ireland have been handed a tough group for the tournament, with top ranked Australia, England who are ranked 7th and China ranked 17th their three challengers. Ireland start off with Australia on Friday, a tough start. However, there is no sense of fear within the squad. There is no reason to be afraid. “We back ourselves to take on the best in the World. We will take every game as it comes,” said Cole. The squad realises they have been handed “a very difficult group”, but that has not taken away from their belief.
For now though, the old adage of ‘one game at a time’ is perfectly fitted to the situation Ireland are in. With the World Cup structure as it is, a third place finish or above will guarantee Ireland a pass into the next round. “An obvious aim is get ourselves out of our group and give ourselves a chance to contend in the crossover games where anything can happen,” said Cole.
And it was in those knockout games that Ireland’s female counterparts paved their way to Final glory. Knockout games in any sport are a game of chance, one bad performance, one mistake, one piece of brilliance could be the deciding factor. However, it’s all about Australia on Friday for this Irish team. Anyone already thinking about knockout hockey would be brought straight back to earth in this squad.
Despite that, we can all dream of success, we can all dream of glory. The nation will hold its breath on Friday as the Men will look to do their country proud. Lee Cole’s final note was a pleasing one: “we have an extremely talented team with buckets of experience and we are definitely looking to cause some upsets!”
The country wishes them luck, the country will watch with hope, this great country will dream.