Hockey’s answer to not being included in the NatWest Island Games, the three-day tournament, which begins tomorrow evening, will bring men’s and ladies’ representative sides from Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Orkney together to compete for inter-island honours.
Guernsey’s men and Isle of Man’s ladies will be travelling to Jersey hoping to retain the titles they won in the Isle of Man in 2013, while the home teams will be hopeful of regaining the trophies, having both been victorious last time the tournament was held on home soil.
Jersey Hockey Association president, Ed Daubeney (pictured) said: ‘Following on from the fantastic Island Games, this is hockey’s ‘time to shine’ in Jersey and for the sport to show all that it has to offer.
‘Jersey Hockey is looking forward to hosting both the players and supporters from the other islands, and winning the PwC Islands Tournament at home would be the highlight of the season for our Jersey teams.’
The tournament starts on Friday night at Les Quennevais, with the finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
HAVING represented the Island as a player for many years, Simon Watling faces a slightly different challenge this weekend.
A classy defender in his own right, Watling is set to lead the Jersey men as head coach when they attempt to win back the PwC Islands Tournament trophy for the first time since 2009.
Heavily involved as assistant coach last season, the Jersey Hockey Club player offered to take on responsibility for the Island side when former manager James Wetherall stepped down over the summer.
Watling, who played in the biennial tournament in 2013, says he has enjoyed the challenges he’s faced since taking over the reins.
‘It is a bit of a different experience for me, it’s new but it has been thoroughly enjoyable so far,’ he explained.
‘I have had great support from the senior players who have all contributed to the preparations for this tournament and I think the squad is in a really good place at the moment.’
Since Jersey’s success six years ago on home soil, the Reds finished runners-up to hosts Guernsey in 2011, and placed third two years ago in Isle of Man.
The hosts have been training hard since early August and Watling believes his ‘quality squad with a good mix of experience and youth’ are capable of regaining the title.
‘It won’t be easy but we can definitely win it,’ he continued.
‘We welcome back key players Tom Le Lievre and Joe Crill and I am excited to see what they can bring to the weekend. I’m also keen to see how our young debutants, Ben Tait and Reuben Gower, adapt at this level.
‘It is early in the season and as a coach you always want more preparation time for a tournament like this, but the players know what is expected of them and I’m confident we can deliver.’
He added: ‘We are certainly looking to win the tournament but in addition to that we want to play a brand of hockey that we can take into the England Hockey Trophy competition next month and be successful there.’
For the first time in several years, Bermuda won’t be attending the event, meaning Jersey will face Isle of Man, Channel Islands rivals Guernsey, and a Barbarians side over the three-day tournament.
With just three group matches before the final and playoff, Watling says it is imperative his side get off to a good start against the Manxmen tomorrow night.
‘It is really important to get a win in the first game … if we can play well and win, it will give us a huge confidence boost and momentum to take into the weekend matches.’
But the Caesarean coach is conscious that fitness levels may also prove crucial.
‘Four games in three days is a lot of hockey,’ he explained.
‘In the build-up, we have played some back-to-back matches so the players have been able to experience playing on consecutive days.
‘We’ve selected 18 players and I believe we have the squad to cope with the schedule. Hopefully we can get good support up at Les Quennevais, cheering the team on … that could make all the difference.’
Jersey men: John Beswick, Alex Noel, Ben Tait, Mike James, Bobby Minty, Tom Le Lievre, Etienne Davis, Joe Crill, Bill Millar, Nick Ferraby, Stuart Ramskill, Nathan Maguire, Dom Simpson, Tom Millar (capt), Luke Maguire, Jack Tait, Arnou Helmholt-Kneisel, Reuben Gower. Coach: Simon Watling.
CAPTAIN Trudy Dillon-Nugent says Jersey’s women have a lot to prove in their opening game of the PwC Islands Tournament.
The hosts play Channel Islands rivals Guernsey at Les Quennevais tomorrow evening, and Dillon-Nugent, who is a senior manager with tournament sponsors PwC, wants her side to make amends for their 1-0 inter-insular defeat in the sister isle earlier this year.
‘In some ways, that Guernsey match is probably our biggest game,’ she explained.
‘It’s pretty imperative we start off with a win so I expect to see blood, sweat and tears on the pitch from our team as we try and ensure we walk away having won.’
The 34-year-old Dubliner, who moved to the Island in 2009, was part of the squad that finished third in the Isle of Man two years ago. After taking over as captain last summer, Dillon-Nugent believes her squad are better prepared than ever for the biennial event.
‘We’ve had a huge focus on fitness over the summer so we are as fit as we can be,’ she continued.
‘It’s an intense weekend but hopefully we’ll have the stamina. At times, it’s going to be our will to win that pulls us through … we will need to find motivation and determination – tired or not – to help us win.’
She added: ‘I have full confidence in our team. We have the potential, we’ve worked incredibly hard over the summer and I hope we do ourselves justice.
‘We have a couple of youngsters stepping up from club hockey so it will be a challenge for them but I expect the experienced players within our team to help support them.
‘We need to make sure we are not overwhelmed by the occasion and so we must be up for it. At this stage, I don’t know if we could have done any more in terms of preparation so hopefully we can kick off our season with a bang.’
With Bermuda not attending, Jersey’s women will contest fixtures against Guernsey, Isle of Man and Orkney and, the Sarnians aside, Dillon-Nugent knows very little about the strength of the opposition.
‘Orkney were a physically tough team when we played them two years ago and I don’t remember too much about Isle of Man.
‘It’s so tough to tell what kind of squads these islands will turn up with … we’ve had dramatic changes to our side since 2013 and I expect the other islands have too.’
She concluded: ‘The best thing about this tournament though is the chance to play other female teams at a high level.
‘It’s not an opportunity that comes around very often so that experience of playing tough female teams is great whatever way it goes.
‘We’ve got a busy season ahead, entering England Hockey’s Trophy, and we’ll take something valuable from this weekend whatever the result.’
Jersey women: Laura Besnard, Sara Luce, Fiona Anderson, Trudy Dillon-Nugent (capt), Ciara McQuaid, Lori Moran, Becky Henwood-Darts, Natacha Kay, Julie Harding, Lisa Grant-Phillips, Kerry Rogers, Sadie Ruellan, Chrissie Helmholt-Kneisel, Sylvie Wilson, Joni Gorman, Sarah Jenkins, Sarah Heelis, Flo Copley. Coach: Alan Morris.
