It’s been a busy week for Great Britain’s hockey players, with several Scots in the thick of the action as team GB’s men and women embarked upon their first series of pre-Olympic warm-ups.

At the weekend, GB men faced a three-test challenge against the world champions, Germany, on their home turf in Dusseldorf.  Scotland’s Graham Moodie, Alistair McGregor, Niall Stott, Mark Ralph and Stephen Dick were all included in the squad. 

Unfortunately, shortly after the announcement, Dick was forced to withdraw from the travelling group after coming down with tonsillitis.

But what a trio of thrilling matches that followed.  Last Thursday’s opener saw a 2-2 draw, Friday’s test resulted in another tie, this time a 4-4 goal fest, before the Brits finally succumbed to the mighty Germans on Saturday, losing 2-1, with all three goals being scored within a ten-minute flurry in the second half.

There were no goals for the Scottish boys, but it was a good run-out for national captain Moodie, who had been struggling with injury, forcing him to miss the Olympic qualifiers in Chile in March. 

Moodie started all three matches, in a bid to cement his place in the Beijing squad.  Ralph, Stott and McGregor all started at least one match in their respective effortd to make the final cut for China.

Meanwhile, on Monday and Tuesday, GB’s women squared up to Olympic dark-horses Argentina at Sonning Lane, Reading.  Two Scots, Laura Bartlett and Abi Walker, were both in contention to confirm their tickets to the far-east this summer.

However it wasn’t a great start for the ladies, as they lost 3-2 to the South Americans in the first test.  Neither Bartlett nor Walker started, but both came on in the second half. 

However it was a different story in match two, as the Britons fought back to win 4-2, with young Western star Bartlett making the score-sheet.

Up next for the Brits, the Setanta Trophy in Dublin next month, where both the men and women will compete.