Lauren Roberts: Wales hockey player thankful for Jersey roots

Lauren Roberts was part of the Wales squad that lost to Scotland in two games over the Easter weekend

"I still pinch myself sometimes," Wales goalkeeper Lauren Roberts says when she talks about her international call-up.

"You walk on to the pitch and you're with your idols and people you've looked up to in the sport, I'm playing on the same pitch as them. I can't believe it really."

Roberts' inclusion in the Wales squad for this year's Tri Nations series against Uruguay and Chile, and then the European Championships in Prague in the summer, represents a big step for someone who first picked up a stick in Jersey, far away from international hockey and Wales.

"It's a massive achievement, especially coming from a small little island like Jersey," the Eastbourne goalkeeper tells BBC Radio Jersey.

"To be able to play for a country is amazing and Wales is such a team environment, and it's really nice to be a part of it."

Having first played aged eight because the goalkeeper kit "just looked really cool", Roberts has gone on to great success on the field.

Roberts follows fellow Jersey-born player Beckie Herbert in playing internationally - Herbert played for England and went to the 2006 Commonwealth Games

Have risen through the junior ranks in Jersey she was put forward for regional and then England trials at under-13 and under-15 level before moving to Millfield School and on to university, where her career really took off.

"My first call-up was in 2019 and I went to the under-21 European Championships, in that we came third," she says.

"From my performance at that I then got selected for the senior Euros that year as well.

"I couldn't believe it because I hadn't trained with them, I was new into the squad, so it was quite a big achievement."

The big aim for Wales going forward is the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia, as they look to improve on an eighth-placed finish which saw them win just one match in Birmingham last year.

But Roberts says she hopes she can inspire players back in her home island to pick up a stick, and says there might be split loyalties if the island ever did get a side strong enough to take on Wales.

"Anyone that is happy to pick up a stick or even be mad enough to go in goal, I'd love to have that legacy, even within the island.

"I am Jersey through and through, so if Jersey ever did make it to that level I might have to make an appearance."