Wales men's national field hockey team
| Wales | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Association | England Hockey |
| Confederation | European Hockey Federation |
| Coach | Zak Jones |
| FIH ranking | 31 (2014) |
The Wales men's national field hockey team represents Wales in international field hockey competitions.
During the 1970s Wales built a strong side, starting with their outstanding goalkeeper Austin Savage who went with GB to the Munich Olympics in 1972. By the late 1970s there were several GB contenders, and as a result Wales came an impressive 6th in the European Nations Finals in 1978 in Hanover, West Germany. The squad was coached in the 1970s by Roger Self, who went to become the most successful GB Manager in the 1980s, winning Olympic Bronze and Gold in 1984 and 1988 respectively. The team featured Savage in goal, but in the buildup to Moscow 1980 (which GB withdrew from in the end) Wales had a number of GB players including Bryn Williams, Howie Williams, Cemlyn Foulkes, Andy Western and Peter Marsh, alongside experienced internationals Robin Martin, Ian Cowx, Andy Gowman, David Thomas and Martin Brough.
After the disappointment of missing out on Moscow, Wales regrouped under manager Gwyn Benson and were invited to a 4 nation tournament at Dulwich where they played Canada and Australia. This was preparation for the Inter-Continental Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 1981, a World Cup qualifier for the top four nations. With GB player Bob Cattrall also now in the squad, Wales took a mix of youth (newcomers Chris Ashcroft, David Peters, Nazir Mohammed, Mike Bishop and others) and experience and beat Zimbabwe, Japan and Italy as well as drawing 1-1 with USSR who were about to emerge as tournament winners and go on to be a major force in World Hockey. Losing to hosts Malaysia in the deciding pool game in front of 20,000 in Merdeka Stadium was a disappointment, Wales finishing 6th in the end after a win over France and a loss to Belgium.
In 1982, Jeff Cocks came in as manager and P J Wilson began to coach the squad as Astroturf hockey came to the fore. Wales went to Colorado Springs for the Rocky Mountain tournament at the US Olympic Training Centre, where they played USA, Canada and Chile before later playing at QPR in the televised 4 nation event with Spain, England and France. Matches with USA, Gibraltar and the Netherlands (two televised games in Swansea) saw further newcomers in David Cutter, Mark Lewis and Steve Cronin gain experience ahead of the 1983 European Championships in Amsterdam. After finishing 2nd in the 1983 Home Internationals, Wales disappointed in Amsterdam despite reasonable pool results against England, France and Austria. 1-0 defeats to Poland and Austria in the play-offs consigned the squad to 12th. Bob Cattrall was absent from this squad due to playing commitments in Australia, whilst Howie Williams also missed Amsterdam. Cattrall did gain GB Olympic selection for Los Angeles where he won the bronze medal, but GB training was otherwise restricted to keeper Ashcroft, defender Cutter and winger Lewis.
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