Malaysians set to return for Irish series

Paul Revington’s Irish men’s team have a busy August in store as Malaysia have been confirmed as visitors for a four match series (times and dates to be confirmed) before taking on a five nations event in Paris.

Ranked 14 in the world, Malaysia are the highest placed side Revington has beaten with Ireland since taking over the post in November 2008, getting the better of the Asian side 2-1 in last summer’s Champion’s Challenge II.

Following that series, they travel with Malaysia to Paris for a tournament with Scotland, Poland and hosts France, beginning on August 24.

The squad is currently on a six-week break from training following their Celtic Cup success and series win over France.

They return to training on August 14 and Revington is looking forward to get back into gear with the 2011 Europeans and a first shot at Olympic qualification on the horizon.

"Our Team needs to continue to accumulate game and competition experience and these events provide this opportunity.

“The current challenge for our team will be playing these test matches after a period of necessary rest and recovery for the players, knowing that the players will be competing with international teams at the peak of their respective summer programmes.

“The team however showed a good balance of technical quality and emotional strength during the recent summer period and I know they will arrive back on the August 14 determined to make the most of these test match and competition opportunities before they start their respective club seasons."

Five-Nations - match schedule (Paris):
Tuesday, August 24: Malaysia vs Poland, France vs Scotland
Wednesday, August 25: Ireland vs Poland
Thursday, August 26: Malaysia vs Scotland, France vs Ireland
Friday, August 27: Poland vs Scotland
Saturday, August 28: Malaysia vs Ireland, France vs Poland
Sunday, August 29: Ireland vs Scotland, France vs Malaysia