When Lucy Field returned to work at Harleston Sancroft Academy, following her second-placed finish with England at the Ladies Masters Hockey Over-40s Four Nations tournament over the weekend, she admitted she felt like a celebrity.
The children at the school cheered and celebrated the achievements of their assistant headteacher who revelled after another ‘amazing experience’ of donning her country’s shirt.
Field, who is captain of Harleston Magpies Ladies’ II, started two of England’s three matches in Ireland as they won, drew and lost in Cork.
Their tournament got off to the worst possible start as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against the hosts – after conceding a last-minute goal – but got on the board with a 1-1 draw against Wales on Saturday – despite earning six late short corners that they failed to capitalise on.
Field and England headed into the final fixture on Sunday with the knowledge that first place was unattainable, as the hosts picked up another victory in their second match, but they turned on the style and eased past Scotland 5-0.
“It was an amazing experience. It was all the things it normally is, with inspirational women, the amazing feeling of putting on an England shirt and going out to try and do your best,” she said.
“Everyone’s asking me how I am, I say ‘I feel really tired’. Body, brain, all of it. But the kids have been really funny, they think I’m a celebrity in school.
“Sport is a journey, you’re not always going to win. It’s being able to bounce back, go again. Our team spirit is phenomenal, everyone got on so well. Every goal that went in we would go absolutely crazy, we were just so pleased for each other.
“It was the pinnacle of motherhood having my kids there cheering me on and my husband really rooting for me. I’ve had so many lovely messages from people, it’s a really lovely feeling.”
The midfielder has only ever known success with her country, winning the Over-35s European Championships, held in Holland, in 2019, so the last-gasp loss against Ireland on Friday was her first taste of defeat in England colours.
“It was pretty devastating,” she said. “I shed a little tear because you want to do well, you want to win and we’re all very competitive. It was very frustrating. We didn’t play particularly well, that’s the most annoying part.
“It was a bitter pill to swallow on Friday, we’ve not lost to Ireland in the last five years. We knew we had to dig deep, turn up and do better.”
Field, who was backed by her sponsors Oliver Bond and Mike Robinson from the Grey Sofa, admitted the schedule was ‘intense’.
Before every match there was a team debrief, a team walk and then a team meeting followed by an analysis of each game where the manager, assistant manager and coach would scrutinise different aspects of England’s performance.
But, despite being overwhelming at times, Field stated she gained a wealth of experience from the tournament and that the squad is driven to bounce back at the next time of asking – which will be at the Masters World Cup in South Africa, in October.
There was a presentation ceremony on Sunday evening, in which Ireland collected their first-place medals. The England team joked and said: “We’ll see you in South Africa, girls.”
