England women won their first game in four attempts as the 2025/26 FIH Pro League season kicked off in Dublin.
On Sunday Holly Hunt and Tess Howard scored for England as they beat Ireland 2-1, who responded late on through Caoimhe Purdue’s PC goal.
England had lost twice to Belgium and drew with Ireland in their opening matches.
David Ralph’s side narrowly avoided relegation last season after two late victories kept them above India.
They next head into a tough set of fixtures in February against the Netherlands and China, the Olympic champions and runners-up respectively, before the World Cup qualifiers.
Belgium women stormed to the top of the table with four wins in a row, with the Netherlands in second after three victories from their games in Argentina.
Meanwhile, England men finished their mini campaign in Dublin with a 3-2 defeat to Belgium, who sit second on 10 points from four games after Tom Boon’s double.
Zak Jones’ side had an indifferent set of results, beating and losing to Germany, while taking a shoot-out bonus point against the Red Lions.
Argentina delivered a commanding 5–1 win over Pakistan, combining penalty-corner efficiency with sharp aerial play to take control early and never look back.
Current Hero Top Scorers:
Women – Stephanie Vanden Borre (BEL), Charlotte Englebert (BEL) Yibbi Jansen (NED) (3 goals)
Men –Alexander Hendrickx (BEL), Tom Boon (BEL), Tomas Domene (ARG) (4 goals)
