Wales senior men leave World Cup with heads held high
Hoci Cymru’s senior men made Wales proud at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, once again shining bright against the world’s best and outperforming their world ranking.
The only amateur programme at the World Cup, our senior men faced a different journey to everyone else getting to hockey’s biggest stage, and demonstrated their spirit, resilience, passion and quality to finish 15th and outperform their ranking at the tournament.
The draw placed Wales in a challenging Pool D that provided rivalries galore. India, Pakistan and England lay in Wales’ path, three games that brough numerous milestones before the second phase arrived.
The senior men showed the spirit and determination that carried them to the tournament as they faced India in their opener, where Jacob Draper was honoured as he reached his 100th cap.
Sam Welsh had a moment to remember as he notched his first World Cup goal late on in the game, which ended 3-1 in India’s favour.
Wales’ second game provided fantastic drama as the senior men demonstrated their worth on hockey’s biggest stage.
After Pakistan took an early lead, quickfire strikes from Gareth Furlong and Rhys Bradshaw sent Wales into the halfway point 2-1 to the good. Pakistan responded in quarter four with two rapid goals of their own, before Furlong tucked away a penalty stroke to earn a dramatic point with minutes remaining.
It was a fitting way to mark a celebratory occasion for his brother, Rhodri, who reached 100 caps on the day.
There was another milestone achievement as Pool D came to a close a couple of days later, as Jack Pritchard earned his 50th cap against England.
It was a tough day overall for the Welsh, although Gareth Furlong salvaged some celebration as he scored another brace late on in the game to take his tournament tally to four, placing his firmly among the competition’s top scorers.
Fred Newbold and Dan Kyriakides were next to be recognised during the World Cup campaign, Newbold earning his 50th cap and Kyriakides reaching 150 as Wales lined up against a tough New Zealand side in the second stage of the competition.
A Jolyon Morgan double raised hopes for Wales as they held their opposition 2-2 at the midway point, but New Zealand’s three goals in quarter three and two in quarter two saw them claim the win.
Days after receiving his 100th cap, Wales co-captain Draper notched his first goal of the World Cup against Japan in the final match before the classification round.
His goal pulled the game back to 2-1, before Sam Welsh got his second of the tournament with 30 seconds to go, but only after Japan had pulled away with a match-winning third on the break.
A 3-2 defeat saw Wales go into the 15th / 16th classification game to face Malaysia, for the first time crossing the border to compete in Belgium.
In Wavre, Danny Newcombe’s men reaffirmed their quality with a solid performance against a tough Malaysian outfit. In yet another tight affair between the two sides, skipper Ben Francis’ second-quarter opener and Liam Barker’s eventual fourth-quarter equaliser meant a 2-2 draw resulted in a shoot-out. Toby Reynolds-Cotterill provided the heroics, brilliantly saving four of Malaysia’s efforts, including a conclusive triple save in their fifth, to secure a 2-1 shoot-out win and 15th place.
The significance of the senior men’s campaign went far beyond performances on the pitch. While their relentless, never-let-lie attitude contributed to a neutral’s favourite, energetically free-scoring kind of performance, being the tournament’s only self-funded outfit ensured their appearance at the World Cup, let alone their committed, proud and shining attitudes throughout, showed what is possible with passion and dedication.
We thank all the players and staff within the squad for representing Wales so incredibly.
Our gratitude goes to all of the team’s supporters for demonstrating that glorious Welsh spirit, as well; from the vital crowdfunder campaign that supported the squad in getting to the World Cup, to the family members and hockey community who cheered on the senior men throughout their journey – it was inspiring to witness.
This campaign will live long in the memory, but it is by no means the end of the road. Next year brings new, exciting challenges for both our senior men and senior women, with both sides competing in the EuroChamps at Lee Valley next July.
