Ireland v Great Britain: GB skipper Hollie Pearne-Webb says Belfast three-match series will be 'tough'

Hollie Pearne-Webb is among seven members of GB's Olympic-winning squad who will be involved in the Belfast series

Great Britain captain Hollie Pearne-Webb says the three-match series against Ireland starting on Saturday will give the Olympic champions a clear indication of where they are at.

That Belfast series pits GB against an Irish side that clinched a surprise World Cup silver medal in 2018.

Pearne-Webb is convinced GB can retain their Olympic title in Japan but says the Irish will not be underestimated.

"They will be three tough games against a really good Irish side," she said.

While spectators will not be allowed at the Belfast matches because of the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the series will be live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer with Saturday's match followed by Sunday and Tuesday's contests.

The GB skipper added: "We're super excited to be here. We've haven't played games since the end of October when we had a couple of (FIH) Pro League matches."

Pearne-Webb, 30, is among seven members of the Rio-winning squad who will be in action in the Belfast series.

Games delay could boost GB says Pearne-Webb

The GB captain believes the delaying of the Games to this year could end up being to the relatively young squad's advantage.

"There has been a lot of transition in this cycle with (coach) Mark (Hager) coming in during 2019 as well so that extra year for a relatively young group is a really good thing for us. We're in a good place.

"I think we can achieve whatever we want to. If we're going to aim to go to Tokyo and we want to win a gold medal, we have the capability to achieve that.

"It will be a case of over the next few months and making sure we've in the best possible position to (do that).

"Games like these are the perfect preparation for us and that's how we learn the quickest and grow as a team. These three matches will give us so many learnings that we can take away."

Pearne-Webb insists that having one Olympic gold medal at home will in no way reduce her determination to achieve a repeat triumph in Japan.

"I remember being on the pitch in Rio having just got a gold medal and thinking 'I just want to do this all over again'.

"We had our ups and downs in our last Olympic cycle as well, so for me, it's definitely something I want to experience again."

Ireland star Lizzie Colvin says the home side are relishing the prospect of taking on the Olympics champions.

"We're so grateful we're getting the opportunity to play some games and also playing up north, just round the corner from me, is great," said the Armagh woman.

"The last time GB came over here I was just coming into the squad 13 years ago. It's fantastic that they want to come over here."

Like Pearne-Webb, Colvin said the series will be "a good marker to see how we've been progressing" since the encouraging January warm-weather series against Spain in Murcia which yielded two wins, two draws and a solitary defeat.

"Spain was a really good test for us to see where we were after the hard training over the winter months. We came away from that quite happy with our performance and we've just been building over the last few weeks.

"The fitness performance of the girls has just been incredible so we're feeling confident going into these games."