Coronavirus: Ireland women's training camp in South Africa cancelled

Ireland qualified for the Olympics by beating Canada in a play-off

The Ireland women's training camp in South Africa has been cancelled a day after Hockey Ireland said a suspension of activities didn't apply to the team.

Hockey Ireland's suspension, due to the spread of coronavirus, will take place until 29 March.

The governing body said that Friday's decision was made after monitoring the situation and the "escalation of measures being taken here in Ireland".

The team are preparing for the Olympic Games this summer.

Ireland were scheduled to travel to South Africa for warm-up matches against South Africa, England, and China early next week for a block of warm weather training and exposure to match play in conditions similar to those expected in Tokyo.

"After a robust and productive conversation with players and staff today, management have decided to cancel the Senior Women's upcoming trip to Durban," said Adam Grainger. Hockey Ireland Performance Director.

"While it could be argued that the performance benefits still outweigh the risks of travelling to Durban, the concern expressed by players and staff combined with 'Coronavirus unknowns' made the decision to cancel this travel the best solution.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and Hockey Ireland would like to thank the squad for their patience on this matter. We will now review and seek to amend the programme plan for the squad for the next few weeks."

The Great Britain men's and women's teams had already cancelled their South African training camps. The men's team includes Northern Ireland players Ian Sloan and David Ames.