Words by Ian Phillips (Adel HC Life-Member)
I have just returned from the Masters Hockey World Cup at Breda in the Netherlands,
involving teams from all over the World.
Just a bit of background. The Masters are teams made up of players over 65, divided into
age groups 65 -70, 70 -75 and so on. Dave Magerison and I were in the over 80s category.
Within the over 80s there were 4 national teams in one pool and 4 national B or mixed
teams in the second pool. David and I were in the 2nd pool as the Celts, which included
Welsh, Scots and Irish players. We all knew each other having played against one another
on many occasions, but had never played together as a team.
The first game was a friendly against the Australian national team and things looked bad
after 10 minutes, Australia taking a 3 -0 lead – the lack of never playing together showed.
We started to get it together eventually losing the game 4 – 0. Not bad for a scratch team
against one of the best in the world.
The second game and first pool game was against the mighty Netherlands, but it was the
main topic of the day when they lost to the Celts 1 – 0. An unheard of event for any team
from the Celtic fringe to beat the Dutch!
Next came England B at 08.30 in the morning. It proved to be far too early a start for the
Celts, and England must have gone to bed very early after hearing of our thrashing of the
Netherlands. We lost 3 – 0.
The final pool game was against Alliance [a mix of players from all over the world]. A draw
or win would see us get a silver medal. England were bound to trounce the Netherlands.
We did our part and drew, but England were rubbish losing 3 – 1. I don’t think England
reacted well to the heat, which was 37C when we all played.
So we ended up with a bronze medal, which David and I will talk about at the club for many
seasons.
I forgot to mention we also came second i.e. lost to the Australian national team by the
same score as before, 4-0, in the first World Grand Masters Octogenarian Championship
held on the last day. How the Celts were chosen to take a part is beyond me but we were,
and got presented with a very heavy paperweight as a reward for being runners up.
A great way to spend 10 days in the company of old friends from all over the world and with
a bit of hockey thrown in. I recommend it to you all when you get a little older.
Ian and David will be playing in a special re-union game at the club on Saturday 29th August 2026, 3pm, as part of a wider club day. Come along to support, and watch these great internationals in action!
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