Goalkeeper Emma and midfielder Issy are both national players in their age group categories.

From 1–3 August, Emma will defend England’s goal against Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the over-50s Four Nations Women’s tournament in Glasgow. Fellow players in the know at Towcestrians confidently agree with this selection, particularly as Emma has played in World Cups in New Zealand, South Africa and Spain since first appearing in the World Masters team in 2018.

Another hidden gem has been playing at Towcestrians since 1991, and joined the England squad in 2019. This year, Issy is giving it some welly for England’s over-65 squad in a string of matches.

She’s making her first appearance in England’s Masters Team LX in July’s International Grand Masters Hockey Festival in Nottingham. The LX team will face Belgium, the Netherlands, Argentina, the USA, Scotland and Alliance (a team made up of players from around the world).

Issy has also been invited to play for Australia Southern Cross, in the Spirit of Masters competition run in conjunction with the European Cup in Nottingham this August. This could be interesting, as she’s a reserve for the England team playing in the European Championships, also in Nottingham, during the same period.

The hundreds of children and adults who play at Towcestrians count themselves incredibly lucky to have international hockey players for England, and other nationalities, in their club. Some even help to coach the children – so watch out for talent from Towcester coming up through the ranks.