To get behind the Green Army and enjoy all the fanfare of the Olympic hockey tournament, there are a number of ways to watch their journey in Tokyo.

RTE2 will broadcast the Irish women’s hockey team’s Olympic debut as part of their overall coverage of the Games.

RTE – as Ireland’s primary rights holder – will show each of the Irish games LIVE on RTE2, starting with the game against South Africa on Saturday with play getting underway at 1.15pm.

Darragh Maloney and Peter Collins will be the presenters for the coverage with analysis from Gillian Pinder and Kate Dillon. Commentary duties will be from Ger Canning and Des Curran with Sarah Scott providing co-commentary analysis from all five group games.

BBC will have coverage of the competition with Nigel Ringland and Gavin Andrews bringing post-match reaction to each game while BBC Newsline will also carry hockey coverage. Keep an eye on BBC1 and the iPlayer for further coverage information throughout the Games.

For hockey fans keen to catch all the other games in the competition, Eurosport is the official streaming partner for the Olympic Games and will be the hub for all other hockey fixtures.

This service is available online via Discovery Plus at the following link: https://www.discoveryplus.co.uk/olympics/home. This service costs €6.99 for one month’s access. You can cancel this subscription at any stage.

For live scores, the most comprehensive outlet for play-by-play updates is via the Olympic website on the following page: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/hockey/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm

Whilst a match is in play, a number of live statistics will be available throughout the match. By clicking on a live match, you will find four tabs: Starting Line-up, Player Statistics, Team Statistics and Play by Play. More information about what these tabs will provide can be found below.

For even more content, the International Hockey Federaion launched their Daily Tokyo Hokkē Show today. Every day, from 22 July to 6 August, a stellar line-up of internationally renowned guests – including David Harte – from the world of hockey will join host Sarah Juggins, FIH Media Coordinator, for the Daily Tokyo Hokkē Show.

Insights, discussions and debates centred around the hockey competitions playing out at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will delight and engage fans from across the globe, bringing them closer to the story as it unfolds on the pitch.

 

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Position: Defence
Age: 19
Caps: 1
1st Cap: June 2021 vs Italy
Hometown: Dublin
Date of birth: 25 September 2001
Current Club: Muckross
Former Club: Avoca
Education: Muckross Park
Job: Student
Twitter: @McAuley_Sarah5
Instagram: @sarah.mcauley

BIOGRAPHY
The 19-year-old Sarah McAuley has stormed into contention in recent times off the back of some supremely assured performances in challenge matches. It led to her inclusion as a travelling reserve for June’s EuroHockey Championships and an eventual debut in game five against Scotland, recording a clean sheet in a 3-0 win.

Earlier in 2021, in the wake of injuries to Zoe Wilson and Barr twins Serena and Bethany, McAuley was drafted in as defensive cover for the uncapped series against Great Britain in March at Queen’s.

The Muckross player was retained for the subsequent games against GB at Bisham Abbey and then again for a series against Scotland. In that time, she has shown coach Sean Dancer enough to earn a place in those European plans.

Her hockey beginnings started at Avoca’s Under-8s section where her mother organised the fixtures. Multi-talented, it was among a spate of sports on her agenda; she played tennis at Monkstown LTC with soon-to-be fellow Olympian Sarah Healy, named in Team Ireland’s athletics line-up, won a Dublin ladies football Division One Feile title with Kilmacud Crokes and also represented the county at the All-Ireland Feile skills competition.

Hockey, though, shone through from second year onwards at Muckross Park where she went on to play in the senior team for four successive seasons. It has perhaps helped her get used to being “the young one”. In third year at Muckross, she won the Leinster Schoolgirls Senior Cup and took bronze at the All-Irelands under coach Una McCarthy.

Two Senior Premier League titles followed but another league success proved elusive with the 2020 cup final – scheduled to be against a Hannah Matthews’ coached Loreto Beaufort – cancelled due to Covid.

Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 23
Caps: 13
1st Cap: October 2017 vs Scotland
Hometown: Dublin
Date of Birth: 28 June 1998
Current Club: Loreto
Former Club: Hermes, Hermes-Monkstown
Education: St Kilian’s German School
Job: Student
Instagram: @lizzy_murphy2898
Twitter: @Lissibissi2898

BIOGRAPHY
Lizzie Murphy will travel to Tokyo as the reserve goalkeeper, waiting in the wings as Ayeisha McFerran’s understudy. She forced her way into the reckoning in 2019 and has been the second goalkeeper at the 2019 and 2021 EuroHockey Championships as well as the Olympic qualifiers against Canada.

She saw pitch time in one of the games in that Euro tournament in Antwerp in 2019, backing up her impressive performances across the 2017 and 2019 Junior European Championships for the Irish Under-21s.

Her hockey history saw her develop at Hermes and at St Kilian’s and she is the first past pupil from the school to play senior international hockey. She attended the school from kindergarten right up to Leaving Certificate.

On the club front, she has played in a series of European club competitions, contesting the 2017 EuroHockey Club Cup in Den Bosch with Hermes-Monkstown, the 2018 Euro Trophy in Dublin with Monkstown and then the Cup again with Loreto in 2019, giving her a taste of the atmosphere at the Wagener Stadium.

Position: Forward
Age: 24
Caps: 2
1st Cap: June 2021 vs England
Hometown: Holywood
Date of birth: 11th June 1997
Current club: Ards
Former club: University of Edinburgh
Education: Sullivan Upper
Job: Medical Student
Instagram: @zaramalseed

MAJOR HONOURS
Club
2018 – Scottih National League, National Cup, National Championship treble (Edinburgh University)

BIOGRAPHY
The Ards striker said earlier this year she is taking “everything as a win” following her hugely impressive first year as part of the Irish senior women’s panel following a meteoric rise. She made her debut in the fourth game of June’s EuroHockey Championships in Amstelveen against England and scored her first international goal a day later against Italy in a 3-0 win.

Prior to that, the Ulster woman showed her goalscoring instincts when she netted three times in three appearances against Spain in Murcia in January despite breaking her thumb in the second game, continuing her incredible rise from obscurity to genuine contention for an Olympic spot.

An Irish Under-18 international six years ago, her move to Edinburgh for university was far from an instant success as she found herself dropped to the second team in her second year.

It is why she considered international hopes “were a dream I thought were dead a long time ago” before a remarkable rise. It started in Scotland with a first team recall leading to captaincy and then a domestic club treble for Edinburgh University.

Since returning to Ireland, she netted over a goal a game for her original club, Ards, who have the added benefit of Irish assistant coach Gareth Grundie in their setup, witnessing her exploits first-hand despite playing outside the top tier EY Hockey League.

That got her foot in the door in February 2020 with an invite for trials but last March’s abrupt hiatus came at the right time to allow her to focus on building the physical side. And it provided Irish coach Sean Dancer with extra justification for her inclusion in Ireland’s carded panel of 23 for 2021.

Position: Midfield
Age: 22
Caps: 5
1st Cap: June 2021 vs Netherlands
Hometown: Dublin
Date of Birth: 5th May 1999
Current Club: UCD
Former Club: Railway Union
Education: Colaiste Íosagain
Job: Student
Instagram: michellecarey3

MAJOR HONOURS
Club
2020 – Irish Senior Cup 2020 (UCD)

BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Carey made her formal international debut at the EuroHockey Championships against the world number one side the Netherlands in front of their home crowd at the Wagener Stadium in June. She was an ever-present in that competition, playing a part in midfield and up front in all five games.

It is a far cry from this time last year when Carey’s main focus was on the Dublin Junior A ladies football championship with Ballinteer St John’s, whom she helped to that particular trophy.

Last September, however, she starred in the Irish Senior Cup final for UCD as they saw off Pegasus to win the delayed 2020 final. Around the time, she was invited by Sean Dancer to train with the Irish senior setup on an ongoing basis having dipped in and out of the squad.

She previously played for Ireland – alongside her twin sister Niamh – at all underage levels, doubling up with spells with the Dublin ladies football youth teams.

Her career veered toward hockey at the age of 16 with the European Under-18 championships in Cork taking her focus as she decided to step away from the Dublin minor panel. In 2021, she played her first senior international games in January in an uncapped series against Spain. Her uncle is GAA President Larry McCarthy.

Position: Forward
Age: 31
Caps: 212
1st Cap: July 2010 v Scotland
Hometown: Rathgar, Co Dublin
Date of Birth: 18 February 1990
Current Club: Muckross
Former Clubs: Hermes, UCD, Hermes-Monkstown, HC Bloemendaal (NED), Pinoké (NED)
Education: Muckross Park
Job: Strategy and Operations Consultant
Instagram: @annaoflanagan
Twitter: @annaof

MAJOR HONOURS

International
2012: Champions Challenge I – bronze
2014: Champions Challenge I – silver
2015: World League Round 2 – gold
2017: World League Round 2: gold
2018: World Cup – silver
2019: FIH Hockey Series – silver

Club
2008: All-Ireland Club Championships (Hermes)
2011-12: Irish Senior Cup winners (UCD)
2013-14: Irish Hockey League winners (UCD)
2013-14: Irish Senior Cup winners (UCD)
2015-16: Irish Hockey League (Hermes-Monkstown)
2015-16: EY Champions Trophy (Hermes-Monkstown)
2017: Gold Cup (HC Bloemendaal)

BIOGRAPHY
Anna O’Flanagan is Ireland’s all-time record goalscorer with 83 goals to her name from her 212 international caps along with a series of other accolades.

In 2008, when still a schoolgirl at Muckross Park College, O’Flanagan was a member of the Hermes team that won the All-Ireland Ladies’ Club Championships. Her teammates at Hermes included Chloe Watkins, Nikki Evans, and Deirdre Duke.

Her switch to UCD brought plenty more trophies with 2012 and 2014 Irish Senior Cup crowns to go with a 2014 Irish Hockey League, scoring the winner in that 2012 3-2 victory over Loreto. O’Flanagan scored again in the 2014 final as UCD defeated Pembroke Wanderers 2–0. Her club-mates in UCD included Katie Mullan, Gillian Pinder, Deirdre Duke, Evans and Emily Beatty.

Along with Watkins and Evans, she joined Hermes-Monkstown in 2015 and they won the Women’s Irish Hockey League title and the EY Champions Trophy. In the EY Champions Trophy final, O’Flanagan scored twice in a 3–1 win over Pegasus. A two-year spell in the Netherlands followed, taking a break from her legal career to prepare for the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup. Her first year – coach by former world player of the year Teun de Nooijer – culminated in a Gold Cup win with HC Bloemendaal.

Internationally, she debuted in July 2010 against Scotland and her first goal arrived in April 2011 against France. Her trophy list features the 2015 and 2017 World League Round 2 golds while 2014 Champions Challenge silver is another highlight. Her 100th appearance came in May 2015, scoring in a 3-1 win against Canada.

She scored 12 goals at the Kuala Lumpur World League tournament, including one in the final, which saw her pass the 50 mark.

Her goalscoring ways continued into the World Cup. On 26 July 2018, she scored in the group game against India, securing a 1–0 win for Ireland and a place in the quarter-finals. On 4 August 2018 she also scored in the semi-final against Spain. This was her 65th international goal which saw her become Ireland’s joint all-time top scorer, along with Lynsey McVicker. She was subsequently named player of the match.

2019 saw her land the Player of the Tournament gong at the World Series Finals in Banbridge and she was on Ireland’s top scorer at the 2019 (joint-top) and 2021 Europeans.

Position: Midfield
Age: 31
Caps: 201
1st Cap: June 2008 v France in Celtic Cup
Hometown: Portadown
Date of Birth: 4th January 1990
Current Club: Belfast Harlequins
Former Club: Armagh, Loreto, HGC (Netherlands)
Education: Portadown College
Job: Solicitor
Instagram: @lizzie_colvin
Twitter: @lizziecolvin1

MAJOR HONOURS
International
2015: World League Round 2 – gold
2017: World League Round 2: gold
2018: World Cup – silver
2019: FIH Hockey Series – silver

Club
2008-09: Irish Hockey League – winners (Loreto)
2009-10: Irish Senior Cup – winners (Loreto)

BIOGRAPHY
A product of the remarkable era at Armagh Hockey Club – under the tutelage of current Irish assistant coach Mick McKinnon – Colvin was part of a side who won six successive promotions, going from the seventh tier of Ulster hockey to the very top. This was all while still in her teenage years and under the coaching of Mick McKinnon who is now one of the Irish assistant coaches.

She moved to Dublin and Trinity for college, playing her club hockey for Loreto with whom she won the inaugural Women’s Irish Hockey League title. The midfield dynamo was also a member of the Loreto team won the 2009–10 Irish Senior Cup alongside fellow internationals Nikki Symmons, Hannah Matthews, Ali Meeke and Nicola Daly.

She spent one season in the Netherlands with HGC while on Erasmus before returning to Ulster and Belfast Harlequins in 2017, linking up with Zoe Wilson and Barr twins Serena and Bethany.

Her senior debut came in June 2008 against France in the Celtic Cup and she has amassed 201 caps since then, becoming just the seventh Irish woman to do so. The big gap in that was between August 2013 and January 2015 when she was recovering from an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury.

She was back in time to win gold at World League Round 2 in March 2015, beating Canada in the final and she helped repeat the feat in 2017, beating Malaysia 3-0 in that final. Her most famous goal is the one that ultimately got Ireland to the 2018 World Cup, scoring the winner in a 2–1 win against India. Ireland’s seventh-place finish in at the tournament eventually saw them qualify.

Colvin represented Ireland at the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup and was a prominent member of the team that won the silver medal. She featured in all of Ireland’s games.

Between 2014 and 2016 Colvin worked as a trainee solicitor with A&L Goodbody in Dublin. After qualifying as a lawyer in 2017 she began working as an employment law specialist with DWF in Belfast.

Position: Forward
Age: 28
Caps: 115
1st Cap: 2012 v Wales
Hometown: Cratloe, Co Clare
Date of Birth: 13th September 1992
Current Club: Catholic Institute
Former Clubs: Hermes, Cork Harlequins
Education: St Patrick’s Immaculate School, Shannon
Job: Maths and coding teacher
Instagram: @naomicarroll13
Twitter: @NaomiCarroll13

MAJOR HONOURS:
International
2014: Champions Challenge I – silver
2015: World League Round 2 – gold
2015: EuroHockey Championships II – gold
2017: World League Round 2: gold

Club
2015-16: Irish Hockey League winners (Hermes)
2015-16: EY Champions Trophy winners (Hermes)

BIOGRAPHY
The multi-talented Cratloe native played her first capped games in June 2021 at the EuroHockey Championships, ending a long joureny since being named as a reserve for the 2018 World Cup. It had been a long and winding road back as she endured an ACL injury when lining out for Clare in ladies football action before starting her hockey recovery with the Irish indoor hockey team in January 2020. In tandem with excellent club form with Catholic Institute, she earned a recall to Sean Dancer’s panel and is in line to add to her 111 caps.

Her sporting beginnings are primarily at Cratloe, playing with the boys teams in hurling and football as the club had no girls section at the time. She played with the likes of Podge Collins and Conor McGrath up until she was Under-16 with the club not allowed field females beyond that age.

On the representative front, she has the quirk of playing for both Clare and Limerick. As Cratloe had no girls teams, she played camogie for Na Piarsaigh and earned a call-up to the Limerick county side as a result, playing alongside Roisin Upton at times. She also won the 2013 Munster Ladies Senior Club Football Championship with Clare and played in the 2010 All-Ireland minor camogie final.

Hockey came later in her sporting life, taking up the game at the age of 14. She says she “initially hated it” but stuck at it and rose quickly to play in Irish underage teams and made her debut six years later. Her club career started at Catholic Institute before moving to Dublin and a successful stint with Hermes, winning the Irish Hockey League and EY Champions Trophy. And she was a near ever-present in the international golden period between 2014 and 2017 which garnered the Champions Challenge silver medal in Glasgow, golds in World League events along with the European second division in 2015. Her comeback came at the Euros this summer and she scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Scotland.

In addition to playing Gaelic games and field hockey, in her youth Carroll also represented the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team at schoolgirl level. Her teammates included Deirdre Duke and Dora Gorman.

Position: Defender
Age: 23
Caps: 114
1st Cap: 3rd November 2016 against Scotland
Hometown: Glenealy, Co Wicklow
Date of Birth: 16 November 1997
Current Club: Old Alex
Former Clubs: Loreto, UCD, North Harbour Hawks, Canberra Strikers
Education: St Gerard’s School
Job: Student
Instagram: @lenatice
Twitter: @lenatice

MAJOR HONOURS
International
2017: World League Round 2: gold
2018: World Cup – silver
2019: FIH Hockey Series – silver
2017-18: Irish Hockey League winners (UCD)

Club
2016-17: Irish Hockey League winners (UCD)
2016-17: Irish Senior Cup winners (UCD)
2017: EY Champions Trophy winners (UCD)
2017-18: Irish Senior Cup winners (UCD)
2018: New Zealand Hockey League winners (North Harbour)
2018: Australian Hockey League – bronze (Canberra Strikers)

School
2014-15: Leinster Senior Cup (St Gerard’s)

BIOGRAPHY
A cricket international at the age of 13, a World Cup silver medallist at 20, Lena Tice’s career is already an extraordinary one with plenty of miles still to run.

In 2011 she made her senior international cricket debut, aged just 13 years and 272 days. As a result, after Pakistan’s Sajjida Shah, Tice became the second youngest player in the history of cricket, male or female, to make their international debut playing in an official One Day International or Twenty20 International. She also represented Ireland at the 2014 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 and appeared 60 times for Ireland all told. Along with Louise McCarthy, she holds the record for the highest tenth-wicket partnership in a Women’s Twenty20 International, with an unbeaten 23 runs. She made her last WODI appearance for Ireland against South Africa on 14 January 2014 and her last WT20I for Ireland against Australia on 22 August 2015.

Hockey-wise, she was the star of St Gerard’s ground-breaking schools team, scoring their winner in a 1-0 win over Alexandra College in 2015 to win the Leinster Schoolgirls’ Senior Cup final.

After a couple of seasons with Loreto, she linked up with Deirdre Duke, Gillian Pinder and Katie Mullan as a member of the UCD team that won a treble during the 2016–17 season, winning the Irish Senior Cup, the Irish Hockey League  and the EY Champions Trophy. Tice played a crucial role in securing the league title for UCD when she scored two penalty corners to inflict a first league defeat on Hermes-Monkstown. The result saw UCD overtake Hermes-Monkstown on the final day of the campaign. Tice also helped UCD retain both the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League titles during the 2017–18 season.

Internationally, Tice represented Ireland at Under-16 and Under-18 levels before making her senior debut on 3 November 2015 against Scotland. At the time she was only 17 and was still a student at St Gerard’s. Coach Graham Shaw would famously recall she texted him to say she was available for the Hawkes Bay Cup in New Zealand despite its proximity to her Leaving Cert.

In January 2017 she was a member of the Ireland team that won a 2016–17 Women’s FIH Hockey World League Round 2 tournament in Kuala Lumpur, defeating Malaysia 3–0 in the final and she has been an ever-present at the 2017, 2019 and 2021 Euros as well as the 2018 Women’s Hockey World. In the wake of that silver medal success, she went on to win medals in both the Australian Hockey League and New Zealand Hockey League.

Position: Midfield/Forward
Age: 25
Caps: 38
1st Cap: January 2019 vs Chile
Hometown: Castleknock
Date of Birth: 4 November 1995
Current Club: Railway Union
Former Club: UMass Minutewomen
Education: Mount Sackville
Job: Hockey player/coach
Instagram: @sarahhawkshaw95
Twitter: @sarahhawkshaw

MAJOR HONOURS
International
2019: FIH Hockey Series – silver

BIOGRAPHY
One of the breakout stars of the team in 2019, Sarah Hawkshaw provides a driving presence, usually down the right flank.

In addition to playing hockey, in her youth Hawkshaw also played Gaelic football for Dublin up to Under-16 level and competed as a cross country runner.

In 2013 Hawkshaw was a member of the Mount Sackville team that won the Leinster Schoolgirl’s Senior Plate final. She scored the winner from a penalty corner as Mount Sackville defeated a St Gerard’s School team featuring Lena Tice 2–1.

Railway Union was her club side and, together with Cecelia and Isobel Joyce, Emer Lucey, Kate McKenna and Grace O’Flanagan, Hawkshaw was a member of the Railway Union team that played in the 2014 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Between 2014 and 2018 Hawkshaw attended the University of Massachusetts on a sports scholarship and gained a BS in Public Health Sciences.

On her return to Ireland, she was soon incorporated into the Irish setup following the World Cup, making her debut in January 2019 against Chile.

She had previously represented Ireland at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-23 levels.

She made her major tournament debut at the 2018–19 Women’s FIH Series Finals and has been an ever-present since then, playing at the 2019 Women’s EuroHockey Nations Championship where Ireland finished fifth, equalling their best ever result, scoring two goals into the bargain.

Her younger brother, David Hawkshaw, is an Ireland under-20 rugby union international and in 2019 he captained Ireland to a Grand Slam.