First cap for Bryce as Scottish Hockey gets set for Commonwealth Games

Thursday 18 April 2002

Julie Bryce, the 22 year old Paisley hockey player who made the headlines in summer 2000 when team mates accidentally broke her arm in celebration of her Golden Goal at the under 21 European Championships final, steps back onto the international stage this weekend when Scotland takes on Canada in a series of test matches at Largs (Friday 19 - Sunday 21 April).

"The Commonwealth Games is something that every athlete would like to be involved in"

For Bryce the weekend not only marks her first cap at senior level, but also represents the first opportunity for selectors to assess her and the other players' chances of making the Bank of Scotland Scottish Team competing at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in just under 100 days time.

Eighteen months on from breaking her arm, the Grange Edinburgh Ladies striker and Business Studies student can see the irony of how her brief but proudest moment in the game became every player's worst nightmare.

"I'd just been selected for the Scottish senior squad, I was meant to be going to Argentina and I felt nothing could go wrong," said Bryce this week. "I scored the Golden Goal, ran away celebrating and everyone just jumped on me and I was right back at square one again.

"I knew right away my arm was badly broken. It broke in two places and the bit in between was shattered but I was lucky not to get an operation or bone graft - it was touch and go to see if it would heal alright."

Bryce, who never identified the culprits, spent a week in a waist-to-neck cast, five months in a humeral brace and eight months on the sidelines, which included the drudgery of weekly visits to the hospital.

"There have been a couple of times I've been injured at crucial moments when I've been on the rise and starting to get somewhere that I've never been before and I felt that's where I was in Praque."

But hopefully at this weekend's newest defining point of her career, the now fully-fit Bryce can exorcise the demons and look forward to the start of her senior career which could include gaining selection for the Bank of Scotland Scottish Team competing at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.

The Bank of Scotland Scottish Team will be chosen after the Celtic Cup in Cardiff (31st May - 3rd June) following an ongoing selection process covering league and cup games, and this weekend's test matches against Canada.

"The Commonwealth Games is something that every athlete would like to be involved in," said Bryce. "I'm on the fringes at the moment and there's no reason why I can't get selected - a lot depends on how I'm playing at the time."

However, more immediate plans include a strong element of self preservation, "I need to work on my speed so that I can get away from everyone when they decide to jump on me."

George Mitchell, Treasurer & Managing Director of Bank of Scotland, said, "Bank of Scotland is proud to be the title sponsors of the Scottish Team who will be competing in the Commonwealth Games this summer. We hope Julie will be an integral part of the team and if her current performance continues she will definitely be one to watch. We wish her good luck in her efforts at Manchester."

Start times for this weekends' matches are as follows:

Friday 19 April, 5pm, Scotland v Canada (Men), 7pm, Scotland v Canada (Women)
Saturday 20 April, 1pm, Scotland v Canada (Men), 3pm, Scotland v Canada (Women)
Sunday 21 April, 1pm, Scotland v Canada (Men), 3pm, Scotland v Canada (Women)