A revised Scotland Senior Women's squad will play three capped friendly matches against Ireland this weekend in Dublin, Ireland building up to the Setanta Sports Trophy next month.

A whirl wind of information, the latest squad list announced new caps, a notable retirement, new management staff and a twist regarding selection consideration for the upcoming matches.

Laura Bartlett, Jaime Lyon, Emily Maguire and Kimi Bright are additions who will all have a chance to get their first international caps this weekend. Women’s Head Coach Keith Joss said: ‘All these players impressed me during the GB Super League and will be given the opportunity to show what they can do at the next level.’

Jane Burley’s name doesn’t appear on the latest list as she’s decided to retire from international hockey after eleven years including 111 Scotland caps and representing Great Britain once.  Jane told Scottish Hockey she felt it was the right time to end her career in order to spend more time with her family and focus on other commitments:

 ‘I’ve had a brilliant time with the squad.  It was a bit of a roller coaster ride at first, my career was on and off for the first six years but when I finally broke through as a regular member of the squad after the 2002 World Cup, it was a dream come true’, she said.

When asked to sum up highlights, a difficult task covering over ten years of play, Jane replied: ‘To get over a 100 caps for your country, you couldn’t ask for more.’

Another important addition to the list is Iain Strachan, who has joined the squad’s management staff as a coach.  Discussing his new colleague, Keith Joss said: ‘There’s no doubt he will bring fresh ideas to the table.  Iain has previous experience working with the Senior Women so I’m very pleased to have him on board.’

And for the twist, other than Jamie Lyon other Bonagrass Grove players were unable to be considered for this weekend’s event because they are required to complete a specific block of strength and conditioning training after their return from playing in Baku. 

Whereas players from other teams have been able to finish the training, due to schedule constraints Bonagrass Grove players are completing their sessions when the Senior Women will be headed to Ireland.

All things considered, according to Coach Joss this weekend is to expose more players to international hockey looking forward to the Setanta Sports Trophy in two weeks time.

Source: Scottish Hockey Union