England come calling for the Winter siblings

There is great excitement in the Winter household after siblings Archie and Rose were called-up to the Boys’ and Girls’ Under-18 England Hockey squads for the coming the season.

The duo, who attend Framlingham College, will link up with their international team-mates for four series camps against the Netherlands, Scotland, Germany and Belgium before final selection for the European Championships takes place in July.

Archie — a forward who has recently broken into the Harleston Magpies Men’s first team — said: “I had a couple of tough seasons where I wasn’t selected for the under-16 England team.

“I was proud of Rose because she got selected at those times, but it made it a little bit harder for me.

“It knocked my confidence a bit but never stopped me wanting to play or keep trying.”

Meanwhile, Rose — also a Harleston Magpies player — added: “Without all the help from coaches at school and club and people like Mr Kingstone (head of hockey at Fram College), who dedicate their life to making us all better hockey players I would 100 per cent not be where I am today.

“Archie has also been a big part in the creation of my success through his commitment and dedication to hockey he definitely inspired me to get better and introduced me to the whole system.”