Team Scotland announces Scotland women’s hockey squad for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

An exciting Scotland women’s hockey squad has been selected to represent Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this July.

The squad, captained by Borders-born Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Robertson, is a strong blend between experience and youth talent. There are nine players making their Commonwealth Games debut alongside nine players who played at Gold Coast.

Scotland has been drawn in Women’s Pool B with Australia; New Zealand; South Africa; and Kenya in Birmingham and go into the tournament in high spirits.

Sarah Robertson, who was recently announced as squad captain, will play in her third Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Robertson said, “Being captain offers a different dynamic for me and it’s a huge honour to captain the team at the Commonwealth Games. The group is in a really good place so it’s exciting moving into the summer.

“We haven’t really seen much of some of the other countries; for example Australia and New Zealand have only really been playing each other, so we’ve not had many matches against those countries. So it’s a bit of an unknown but we’re in a really good group and I think we can cause an upset.

“I think the squad is a really good blend of people who have been there and done it, and then some of the players going for the first time still have 50 or 60 caps. So we’ve got a group who have played together for quite a few years now.

“After Covid it’s so good to come together again as a team and then with other sports at a major event as Team Scotland. It’s a unique feeling, and a feeling that people have really missed, so it’s always special to wear the tartan and join together with the other sports.”

The selected squad has 18 players, including GB internationalists, Amy Costello from Edinburgh; Dundonian, Charlotte Watson; Glaswegian, Jenny Eadie; and Helensburgh native, Fiona Burnet.

It’ll be a first Games experience for talented youngsters Bronwyn Shields, from Glasgow; and Ellie Wilson, from Edinburgh; and Eve Pearson from Dunfermline.

20 year old Pearson added, “I’m absolutely buzzing. It’ll obviously be my first Commonwealth Games and my first caps as well. This is huge for me. After I joined the squad I started to believe in myself. Once I started training I took the pressure off myself and it made me able to perform to the best of my abilities.

“I feel so lucky to be playing alongside all the girls in the team; the first game against South Africa will be my first cap and that’s the game that’ll be the massive one for me.”

Scotland’s opening match against South Africa will also be extra special for Heather McEwan who was born in South Africa, and will earn her first Scotland cap in Birmingham against the country of her birth. McEwan said, “Being selected is the best feeling in the world. It’s going to be great to be there to win my first cap, but to play that game against South Africa is amazing. I’ve come a long way and I’m just so excited to be part of it.

“I think as a team we’ve really come far in our rebuild, so I’d really like to see us medalling and doing really well. It’s been part of our change in mind-set from the start, so we’re not just going to compete, we’re going to try and get a medal. I really think with this squad we can do that.”

Scotland women are in tremendous form following victories over Wales in two recent test series’, on the back of winning two of the three matches in a series against Ireland in Belfast.

Elinor Middlemiss, Team Scotland Chef de Mission said, “I am absolutely delighted for all the players selected for the women’s hockey squad. Representing Scotland is incredibly special and taking part in a UK-based Games will be a very special moment for these players. There is a great mix of experience in this squad and I am looking forward to seeing the players compete in Birmingham.”

Chris Duncan, head coach of the Scotland women’s squad, said, “I’m really excited. Obviously the selection period is very tough for so many reasons but from my perspective we have selected an extremely exciting squad. There’s balance across the squad in terms of different characteristics and personalities, which I think really bring things to life, and I really feel like we’ve picked an amazingly strong squad that allows us to go down to Birmingham and make a great account of ourselves.

“Our expectation is to go and play our brand of hockey and show our brand of hockey to the world. That’s the chance you have when you play on the world stage, which is something we don’t get all the time, so we’ll go down there with high hopes to show people what we can do. If we focus on process, and do the best we can, then results will take care of themselves.

“To see other athletes competing, and be in and around the events will be great, but I already feel like there’s a real sense of team. We’ll not just be there as Scottish Hockey, we’re there as Team Scotland, and I know the success of other athletes and teams will really help push us on to try and do something special.”

The hockey competition runs from 29 July to 8 August at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre.

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