Wales Women and Men shine on European stage to secure promotion

Welsh senior Women and Men shone in EuroHockey Championships II action recently, both securing promotion to the top flight of European competition for 2027.

The Women returned from Poland with a silver medal to ensure their status as a top-flight team for the first time in 24 years, while the Men earned gold in Portugal.

The results also see Wales’ senior sides seal their places in next year’s World Cup qualifiers.

Both sides shone on their way to their respective podiums, with the individual accolade of Player of the Tournament for both Betsan Thomas and Jacob Draper in their respective tournaments capping off memorable journeys and only accentuating the collective power of each side.

The Women were dominant in their group phase, maintaining a 100% record to book their place in the final four of the competition.

Skipper Beth Bingham’s early strike gave Wales a 1-0 over Switzerland to kick things off, before the floodgates opened on matchday two.

There were five different scorers as Wales sailed past Czechia with a 5-1 win. Beth Peers and Millie Holme bagged the opening goals after the midway point, before Rebecca Daniel, Bingham  and Thomas making sure of the three points after a Czech reply.

It was full steam ahead as matchday three came, with Wales once again progressing comfortably past their opposition. A semi-final spot was secured with a maximum nine points as Amy Cradden’s brace gave Wales a 2-0 win over Lithuania to cap off a resounding opening phase.

The Men also topped their group to book a semi-final place in Portugal.

Goals from Jack Pritchard and Rhys Bradshaw within the opening ten minutes of their opener set the tone. Another from Gareth Griffiths before the halfway point without a reply from opening opponents Switzerland would see Wales win 3-1 to get things going.

A stern test lied in wait for matchday two, in the form of a strong Scotland outfit; and it would prove a tense match-up which required a lot of doggedness to come out of unbeaten.

Nicholas Morgan did put Wales ahead in the first quarter, although the Scottish showed their quality to overturn the scoreline and put themselves ahead on 47 minutes. A gritty show of strength and determination ensued from Wales’ senior Men, with Gareth Griffiths doubling his tournament tally in the final minute to earn a point for his side.

Matchday three would see Wales secure top spot ahead of Scotland on goal difference, courtesy of a monumental 14-0 victory over Croatia.

An avalanche of early goals gave Wales a 12-0 lead by the halfway point, with six different scorers contributing to the eventual 14-0 win in which Jolyon Morgan reached a milestone 50th cap. Among the torrential scoring, Pritchard added another four to his tournament total while Gareth Furlong bagged a hattrick, as an awe-inspiring Wales ran riot into the final four.

The semi-finals continued in similar vein to the group phase for the two Welsh sides – dramatic and dominant.

On the Women’s side, Cradden’s last-gasp strike booked her side’s place in the final after Austria had cancelled out Bingham’s opener.

Meanwhile, the Men once again bulldozed their way into the showpiece event courtesy of a 5-0 win over Italy. Griffiths, Pritchard, Morgan and Fred Newbold were once more among the goals, while captain Ben Francis got his name on the scoresheet too.

With promotion already secured, both the Women and Men would face tough tests to top their respective podiums.

The Women concluded their history-making campaign with a silver medal to earn a top-flight spot in over two decades, playing out a hard-fought final with Italy.

The Men, meanwhile, secured gold with another gutsy showing to overcome Ireland via a shootout.

Pritchard was on hand once again, bagging his seventh of the tournament to peg back an early Irish goal in normal time, before putting in a heroic performance to win the shootout in nail-biting fashion.

As celebrations blossomed across Welsh hockey to mark a pivotal week for the sport in Wales, eyes will soon turn to preparations as the thrilling challenge of Europe’s top tier looms for both of the country’s senior sides in 2027.

Hoci Cymru would like to thank the incredible effort of those who followed the senior sides and offered their invaluable support throughout the competitions, as well as those who supported by engaging across our channels and watching via S4C and EuroHockeyTV.