Last month saw Hoci Cymru’s senior men and women take on Austria and Malaysia respectively, in the Summer Series at the National Hockey Centre.
And, alongside overall Series wins for both sides, an abundance of glittering debuts made it a campaign to remember for Wales.
On the ladies’ side, the Summer Series offered first caps to five players, all of whom featured in the opening fixture of the Series.
Tough Malaysian opposition would deny the Welsh a win to kick things off, but debutantes Freya Diamond – who recently proved so crucial at the Eurohockey U21 II-A Championships to earning Wales a place at the 2025 Junior World Cup – and Lily Roberts had a day to remember as they bagged Wales’ goals in a well-earned 2-2 draw.
Rachel Goodwin, Caitlin Witham and Ava Dempsey also represented the senior women for the first time that day with all five remaining in the lineup for Wales’ second bout of the Series.
Wearing her distinctive number 96, Diamond got herself on the scoresheet once more alongside Goodwin, scoring her first senior goal in her second appearance.
“It was an honour to make my debut at senior level,” Goodwin reflected. “I was excited to have scored a goal in the second match, and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the team and felt proud of my performance.”
That 2-0 win, in which Emily Rowlands earned her 50th cap amongst a host of fresh-faced colleagues, would be the decisive result in the series, as the sides settled for another 2-2 draw in the third and final meeting.
Witham would put Wales 2-1 ahead after teammate Olivia Hoskins’ opener, but the stern Malaysian ladies pulled one back before the final whistle to make it a brace of draws in the series.
For the men, Nic Morgan, Jamie Rawlings and John Bennett earned their first senior call ups for the Series against Austria.
On his first senior cap, Rawlings was among the scorers for the Welsh, netting the opener in a monumental 5-1 victory to kick things off.
A narrow 1-0 defeat in the second match-up, in which Bennet featured for the first time, would take the Series to a decider, and it was Wales who steamed to victory once again with a 3-1 win.
“It was an absolute honour to receive my first cap in front of a home crowd, and being able to share the moment with my family friends was special and unforgettable,” Morgan commented after the Series win.
A total of eight debutants took part across the men’s and women’s series, with five of them finding the back of the net and all holding their own at a level above.
Kevin Johnson, Head Coach of the women’s side, reported his delight at how “the debutants settled in so well for their first taste of senior international test match hockey.”
“It’s not easy making your debut at senior level and especially with the added expectation of playing at home, but all handled themselves well and made meaningful contributions to the team in a successful Series win.
“We have worked especially hard in recent years on our junior programmes,” he continued, “and it’s great to see the rewards of this in the way players are now smoothly transitioning between the levels.”
By Hockey Wales
