Quest for glory resumes for SA hockey men

“It’s a great chance for us to get some much-needed game time together before the Commonwealth Games,” Smith said in a statement.

“We haven’t had any training camps or any other practice matches so this will be all the preparation we have so we need to make it count.”

South Africa would play against Ireland, England and Scotland before the finals on Sunday.

England, in fifth place, were the highest-ranked team in the London tournament. South Africa were ranked 12th followed by Ireland (15th) and Scotland (25th).

Smith, who played for Den Bosch in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, said he hoped his side could take some positives from the tournament ahead of the Games in Glasgow, taking place from July 23 to August 3.

The South Africans would also be looking to improve on their fifth place finish at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

SA team: Andrew Cronje, Jean-Pierre De Voux, Timothy Drummond, Jethro Eustice, Rhett Halkett, Julian Hykes, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Robin Jones, Ignatius Malgraff, Clinton Panther, Taine Paton, Wade Paton, Erasmus Pieterse, Jonathan Robinson, Austin Smith (captain), Lungile Tsolekile.

Schedule: Wednesday, 5.15pm: Ireland v South Africa; Thursday, 7.30pm: England v South Africa; Saturday, 9.45am: South Africa v Scotland; Sunday, playoff (9.45am) and final (2.45pm).

– Sapa