Benelux; We won't miss you!

I was pretty sure I was going to be marked absent for Maastricht when I woke up at 1am last night. With tonsils like golf balls and temperature soaring it was unlikely I was going to recover in time for the morning. This is the second time i've got tonsilitis in two weeks and not finishing the last dose of antibiotics came back to get me.

In 2006 and 2007 I suffered badly with back and hamstring problems and thought my competitive days were numbered. However, I managed to get back to some sort of level last year and thought I'd put the injuries behind me. Then at the beginning of this March I did a job on my ankle which kept me out nearly 7 weeks. Soon after shaking that off the back started to flare up again. It's giving me a dose of sciatica down my right side. I'd say I haven't been able to train properly for the bones of 6 weeks. I've been way off the pace as a result and am struggling to see the end of these latest issues.

Given the state of the body, I consoled myself with the fact that I would not be aggravating it further in Maastricht today. However, I was an additional absentee to an already depleted panel, one which suffered further as Ciaran Hudson injured his back in the warm-up today.

Reports back have been sketchy. The A team lost 1-7 to 1-5 in their opening game against Lux before beating Maastricht to qualify for the semi-final. They took on Amsterdam in this fixture and apparently should have been home and dry before controversy struck at the final whistle. It seems both Belgium and Amsterdam had it down as a one point win for Belgium. The ref had it as a draw and Amsterdam beat us in extra time.

The B team competed well by all accounts but won't be sorry to see the back of Benelux and head into the Shield. I'm glad the Benelux section is over too, its proved an awful couple of months. Conan, Colin and myself have had to work very hard to get two teams to each tournament and each has been a struggle. Alot of positive things were said at the team meeting before the first tournament but have not been followed up with the actions required all the time. We will draw a line under that now and move onto the Championship, starting in Munich at the end of July.

There is four weeks to prepare and hopefully fellas will put in the necessary effort. Injury permitting, we have a strong squad to travel, our strongest of the year. The best thing about travelling distance is that fellas have to put their money on the table early so are less likely to pull out. We'll get cracking on Tuesday night. As for me, I'll use this as a sign to let the body heal and make sure I'm ready for road in Munich.