England Turn on the Style in Pro League Under Interim Head Coach Zak Jones
There was much at stake for the England’s men hockey team when they travelled to Santiago del Estero, Argentina, to kickstart their 2024-25 Pro League campaign. The team’s preparations in the new Olympic cycle (post the 2024 Paris Olympics) haven’t been far from challenges with chief coach Paul Revington stepping down after the Paris Olympics, and Zak Jones was appointed interim head coach for the Pro League.
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It may be pertinent to note that Great Britain and England men teams have made significant strides ever since Paul Revington took charge in April 2022 – the national team leapfrogged to number 2 in the FIH world rankings. Under Revington, barring the disappointing quarterfinal exit at the 2024 Paris Olympics, England have been consistency-personified – they picked up a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Birmingham as well as garnering a silver medal in the 2023 EuroHockey Championships at Monchengladbach – Great Britain team also capped off podium finishes in the Pro League – finishing second in the 2022-23 edition and settling for the third position in the 2023-24 edition.
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The current interim coach Zak Jones is no stranger to England and Great Britain hockey – interestingly, he had earlier served as interim head coach following the resignation of Danny Kerry in January 2022 as well as worked as assistant coach to the England and GB men’s teams in July 2020 – he had attained a fair degree of success with the Wales men’s team as well.
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The Zak Jones-coached side put the ‘Paris Olympic quarterfinal exit disappointment’ well behind them, dishing out a power-packed performance in the first set of Pro League games in Santiago del Estero. The standout performance saw England perched on top of the points table with 11 points from 4 games ahead of the likes of Olympic champions Netherlands and world champions Germany.
It is indeed a great deal to beat a side like Argentina in their own backyard, and England showed that they are a side to reckon with brushing aside the challenge of Las Leonas twice in convincing fashion – winning by 3-1 margins. The only mild setback if you would like to call it, was their 3-2 shootout win over their neighbours Ireland after a battle of attrition saw the scoreline reading 3-3 at the regulation time. The Zak Jones-coached side showed their superiority in no uncertain terms thumping them 8-0 in their second leg.
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England team named a core leadership group appointing 3 captains – Conor Williamson, Sam Ward, and Timothy Nurse for the Argentina leg of the Pro League. It must be said that Sam Ward really led from the front, scoring 8 goals across 4 games to be the joint top goal-scorer in the 2024-25 edition. Although Ward’s impactful performance was a big factor in England’s impressive run in the Pro League, the likes of Zak Wallace, James Albery, Stuart Rushmere, Conor Williamson, Samuel Hooper also essayed meaningful contributions and their collective might was instrumental in England turning on the style at Santiago del Estero.
Image Credit: FIH
