Rohrmax EuroHockey Club Trophy I (Vienna, Austria)
SV Arminen welcomes the Rohrmax EuroHockey Club Trophy I to the idyllic Waldstadion on the hill rising above Vienna this weekend as eight teams go for gold.
It is a competition filled with teams with strong track records on this stage with reigning champions Lisnagarvey and 2023 winners Cardiff & Met lock horns in Pool B. They are joined there by last year’s Trophy II winners AD Lousada and OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa who won silver in their last two visits to Vienna at this level.
In Pool A, hosts Arminen face a rematch with TJ Plzeň-Litice while WKS Grunwald Poznan are looking to build on their promotion from Trophy II. Watsonians, meanwhile, are the brand new side and will represent Scotland for the first time in a European men’s competition.
Here’s an overview of the team:
Pool A: SV Arminen (AUT), TJ Plzeň-LItice (CZE), WKS Grunwald Poznan (POL), Watsonians HC (SCO)
SV Arminen have been a frequent EHL competitor, most recently playing in the 2024/25 KO16 in London and they have a number of Austrian internationals in their line-up.
Sebastian Eitenberger and Florian Steyrer captain the side while Max Kelner, Christoph Sandbichler and Florian Hackl were with the national side at the World Cup qualifiers in Egypt.
TJ Plzeň-Litice are another side with a decent amount of recent EHL experience as the Czech runners-up look for revenge over Arminen who defeated them 1-0 in London in October 2024.
Adam Uhlíř is the lynchpin to their chances, a towering presence in the spine of the team while Jakub Homolka is a talent who has broken into the indoor international side already.
For Scotland’s representative, it is their very first men’s European competition after they finished second in the Scottish grand final against Western Wildcats.
Watsonians` Luke Campbell remarked: “Our women’s team have been regulars in European competitions over the last few years, but on the men`s side it`s the first time competing in Europe, and also the first appearance at this level for most of our players, so it`s a proud and exciting moment for all involves.
“There is an element of the unknown about some of our opponents, but clearly there are some very strong teams in the competition and we are aware that every other club has plenty of recent experience in Europe – in contrast to ourselves.”
Former Grange players Dan Coultas and Duncan Riddell are the two in their panel to have previous European club experience.
Poland’s WKS Grunwald Poznan face the tricky task of this being their first outdoor fixture following an extensive indoor season with the spring round of the Polish Super Liga only beginning next week.
They sat in third place at the break but just one point off first place and their panel has a spread of international talent both past and present. Mikolaj Głowacki captains the team and he is joined by Damian Jarzembowski, Michal Lange and Maksymilian Pawlak from the current international side.
Pool B: AD Lousada (POR), Cardiff & Met (WAL), Lisnagarvey HC (IRL), OKS-SHVSM Vinnitsa (UKR)
Lisnagarvey come into the competition as one of the favourites having won the Trophy I in 2024 and then reaching the final on home turf, only missing out on the title to CAM92 in a shoot-out.
Matthew Nelson, Johnny Lynch, Mark McNellis and Peter McKibbin all helped Ireland qualify for the World Cup earlier this year. Nelson has been leading the line for the high-scoring club with 13 goals, the same total as indoor international Ollie Kidd.
Their date with Cardiff & Met looks set to be a lively one with the two sides meeting in both 2024 and 2025 with Garvey winning 5-4 and 4-2 (in the final) respectively.
Cardiff have been the leading light in Wales for many years now and are holding their own in the English Premier Division where they now compete.
Jack Pritchard captains the team with club mates Daniel Kyriakides, Rhodri Furlong, Jonathan Fleck, Rhys Payne, Alf Dinnie and Dale Hutchinson all helping Wales qualify for the World Cup.
They took gold in 2023 when the tournament was also in Vienna at Post SV before taking silver in 2024 and bronze in 2025.
Portugal’s AD Lousada are back in Trophy I having won the 2025 Trophy II on home turf, edging out WKS Grunwald Poznan in a shoot-out after the final finished 3-3 in normal time.
Theirs is a vastly experienced squad with the majority of the panel having played in many Euro club competitions but this is just their third appearance at this elevated level.
Ukraine’s leading team OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa are playing in this competition for a seventh successive campaign, the highlight being their second place finish in 2018 (at WAC) and 2023 (at Post SV). Last year, they ended in sixth place in Lisnagarvey.
Oleksandr Diachenko is the team captain for what will be his eleventh Euro club outdoor competition, dating back to 2014. Similarly experienced are Yurii Dzemukh, Oleksandr Solomianyi, Volodymyr Kaplinskyi and Maksym Onofriiuk.
Follow the games LIVE on EuroHockeyTV
