Ireland’s offensive players were given ample opportunity to fine tune their preparations for the World Championships with a comfortable 14-4 victory over Austria. 3 goals in the first 5 minutes at the Colorado Academy in Lakewood in Denver got the Irish off to a perfect start and from there, they never looked back.
Cillian Murphy kept the Irish offence moving and took the plaudits as The Physio Company’s man of the match. Kris Prior, Brian Gillis and Tom Riley all got their names on the scoresheet as Ireland recovered from a 1 goal reverse in the previous days scrimmage against the tournament’s 5th ranked team, Japan.
Whereas the scrimmage against Japan was a much tighter affair with both midfields dominant in Denver’s high altitude, this was a much more open game from which the Irish attack will gain a lot of confidence and conditioning.
Next up for Ireland is a final scrimmage against the 4th ranked Iroquois Nationals before the opening ceremony on Thursday night. Ireland then begin their World Championship with an opener against Uganda on Friday.