SATURDAY,13 JUNE 2026
FRANCE STRENGTHEN TITLE CREDENTIALS WITH WIN OVER IRELAND
- Fans pour into Hartleyvale Stadium to see top-class hockey
Cape Town, South Africa: France moved to the top of Pool A at the FIH Men’s Hockey Nations Cup with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Ireland in a clash between the tournament’s two highest-ranked teams at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
After weathering an energetic start from the Irish, who controlled much of the opening quarter, the French underlined their title credentials with goals from Xavier Esmenjaud and Timothée Clément to secure a second successive victory following their opening day win over South Africa.
With Ireland ranked ninth in the world and France 10th, there is seldom much to separate the two sides – a fact acknowledged by both coaches, John-John Dohmen of France and Mark Tumilty of Ireland.
Unsurprisingly, Dohmen was the more satisfied of the two after the final whistle and praised the attitude shown by his players.
“We haven’t quite played at our highest level in this tournament, but we’ve been good and our mentality has been perfect, and that makes a difference between winning and losing,” he said. “There are still areas where we want to improve.
“Ireland played really well in the first quarter, then we grew into the game and managed to get the ball into the net.
“Ireland are always tough opponents for us. Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win, so we’re very happy to get the victory today.”
Dohmen also expressed his delight at the atmosphere created by the large crowd that packed into the stadium for a feast of international hockey, with the eagerly anticipated clash between South Africa and the United States still to come later in the day.
“It’s very positive for hockey to have a crowd like that and it’s great for South African hockey,” he said. “I didn’t expect so many people, so I’m really happy to see it.”
Scorers:
France 2 (Xavier Esmenjaud, Timothée Clément); Ireland 0
Final report on the late game on Saturday: 5 pm: South Africa v United State of America to follow.
Report with free top use soundbites and captioned pics to accompany final report.
Ends.
FREE TO USE PICTURES WITH CAPTIONS:
FR vs IRE Captains– French national hockey captain Francis Goyet shakes hand with Kyle Marshall, captain of Ireland ahead of their 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup clash at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday 13 June 2026. France beat Ireland 2-0 to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
FR vs IRE1- Xavier Esmenjaud of France controls the ball against Ireland ahead of their 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup clash at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday 13 June 2026. France beat Ireland 2-0 to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
FR vs IRE2 – Timothee Clement of France celebrates scoring the first goal against Ireland in their 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup clash at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday 13 June 2026. France beat Ireland 2-0 to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Photo credits: Ray Chaplin Sports Media
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