Posted on

Does something exciting, this way comes…?

There seems to be a change of ethos in the hockey being played in Scotland. A change of leadership has happened over the past couple of years, including within the national governing body and senior ladies team coaching. The upshot of this seems to be that the women’s team has taken on a more attacking style of play. Additionally, a number of Scottish players have recently been selected for either the Great Britain senior side, or the Elite Development Programme. Should we be paying more attention to what’s happening in Scotland? 


Chris Duncan took over the Scottish ladies national team in July of 2021, on an interim basis. He took on the job permanently in December of 2021, having previously acted as an assistant coach to Jen Wilson. In the build up to the Commonwealth Games in August of 2022, the senior side made a big deal about a change of style in play, moving towards a more attacking and assertive game plan. During the tournament in Birmingham, they were unlucky not to go further than they did, taking a decent New Zealand side to the wire. That fixture, in the group stages was a 0-1 loss to the 2018 Commonwealth Champions, with a Scottish equaliser controversially chalked off. 


Scotland Under 21’s warming up to play Wales U21’s; Peffermill Playing Fields, Easter weekend, 2023. Copyright; Tao MacLeod. Click on the image to listen to the Half Court Press Podcast.

This ambitious flair has continued on. Over the Easter weekend, the Welsh senior and Under 21 ladies sides came up to Edinburgh for a series of test matches. The Scottish performed well, without losing a single game. Both sides played developmental sides, with a few GB players being unavailable. This was interesting as a way of seeing up and coming talent, with the Scots showing a greater strength of depth. Colin Fraser, President of Scottish Hockey, was at the Peffermill Playing Fields for the six nil win for his side. He told the Half Court Press, 

“What I like about this Scotland team, is the belief they have. They don’t go on that pitch, nowadays, without an expectation that they can win the game. Now, they might not be successful, but this group has such a positive attitude, it’s just nice to be in their company.”


Additionally, there are several players within the Great Britain Olympic squad and Elite Development Programme (EDP). Ladies captain, Sarah Robertson, was a part of the GB side that won the Bronze medal at Tokyo 2020(21). Defender Amy Costello, midfielder Jenny Eadie as well as forwards Charlotte Watson and Fiona Burnet (who has appeared on the Half Court Press Podcast) are also there. There’s also half a dozen Scottish ladies in the EDP, including other podcast interviewees Jess Buchanan and Emily Dark. On the men’s side of things, Lee Morton is in the senior team, with several players in the EDP set up, including Struan Walker and Jamie’s Croll and Golden. All things considered, it would appear that the future is bright blue for Scottish Hockey. 




Easter Weekend Test Series Results; Peffermill Playing Fields (University of Edinburgh)

07.04.2023 (Friday)

Scotland U21 2 – 1 Wales U21

08.04.2023 (Saturday)

Scotland 6 – 0 Wales

Scotland U21 3 – 1 Wales U21 

09.04.2023 (Sunday)

Scotland 3 – 1 Wales

Scotland U21 4 – 1 Wales U21


Click on the image to listen to the Half Court Press Podcast.

Click on the image to listen to the Half Court Press Podcast.