HOCKEY: Banbridge man is Ireland's blue eyed boy in World League Two

It marked another step forward for a talented squad. And nine of that 18 strong panel will this week be in senior action at World League Two - but only eight for the Green Machine.

Matthew Bell, Lee Cole, Jamie Wright, Neal Glassey, Johnny McKee, Sean Murray, Jeremy Duncan and Jamie Carr have all made the cut into Craig Fulton’s squad - and that leaves Ben Cosgrove.

The former Banbridge Academy captain will also be strutting his stuff at Stormont but he has swapped his green shirt for a blue one.

That means as he makes his competitive senior debut for Scotland, he will be doing it on his native soil.

“It will definitely be interesting,” he said. “If we got to play against Ireland, obviously that would be the big one. It will be very competitive because I know a lot of the Ireland guys having grown up with them, especially the Banbridge guys and the Garvey guys too. It will be all about bragging rights.”

Cosgrove, son of former Mossley coach Fergie, moved to Dundee to study dentistry after leaving Banbridge Academy in 2012 and that leap across the Irish Sea has shaped not only his professional, but also his sporting career.

“I played for Ireland up until Under 21 level but then when I moved over to Scotland, I just couldn’t commit to coming back to Ireland to train and push on to make it into the senior team,” he explained.

“I knew a lot of the Scottish coaches and players from playing against them up through the agre groups and when they got to know my situation, they approached me about switching to play for them. I’ve lived here for three years so it’s long enough to qualify and I had a year break between playing for Ireland at the Under 21 Euros and doing anything with Scotland. That was a long enough gap because I hadn’t played any senior games for Ireland.

“It wasn’t an easy choice. I had to think about it for a long time but I’m happy and all the Scottish lads have been brilliant in making me feel part of the team.”

Cosgrove’s presence at least gives Banbridge Academy a double chance of glory in WL2 - and having both Scotland and Ireland in the final, meaning both progress to the World League semi-final stage, would be perfect all round.

“That would be nice,” agreed Cosgrove.

“We’re aiming to qualify at least. We’ll take each game as it comes so looking at the first one, we know we can beat France but we will have to play to our best in every game. It’s probably the closest tournament that any of us have ever played in. Any team could come first or last.

“It’s going to be a hard group but the crossover game is the big one. The quarter-final game will be huge, we just have to get ourselves into the semi-finals and take it from there.”

Cosgrove’s coach at Banbridge Academy Mark Cordner was full of praise for his ex skipper, who was the first person to win four Burney Cup titles before he left the school in 2012.

“We’re all absolutely made up for Ben,” said Cordner.

“His father put in a lot of hard work during his years as a teacher and hockey coach at the school and Ben is a chip off the old block in terms of his dedication to his sport. We’re delighted that he has continued to improve himself. Regardless of which country he is playing for, it’s a huge privilege to play international hockey and we wish him all the very best.”

While Cosgrove said he hasn’t gone as far as considering himself a Scot just yet, he is making a life for himself across the Irish Sea. He’s planning to stay on and work in Edinburgh after he graduates next year.

But making his international debut back home at least means his family will be there to watch - including his Tibetan terrier Oscar.

There will be more than two men and a dog at Stormont at 10.30am this morning, when Scotland begin their campaign against France.

Cosgrove’s old team-mates and Ireland begin at 3pm against Austria.