June 2024 will be a month Gareth Furlong will remember for the rest of his life. It started with his debut for Great Britain in the Pro League – a match which also featured his first goal for GB. He helped himself to three more goals during the London leg of the FIH Pro League and then towards the end of the month, he was named in the squad to travel to the Olympics to try and capture a gold medal for Great Britain.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming, to be honest.” Furlong tells me at the Great Britain kitting out event.
“Obviously it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I was still kind of processing playing in the Pro League block which only finished last week. The next one is coming in a couple of days as well so the whole thing hasn’t really sunk in but obviously I’m Incredibly excited.”
Furlong’s record in a Wales shirt, 156 goals in 148 games coincides with the team’s climb up the world rankings to 18th, and a period where they have competed at European Hockey’s top table. This is a huge achievement for a squad on such a small budget and it is clear to see Furlong’s goals have played their part in that rise. However at the age of 31 he may have been thinking his chance for Great Britain had gone.
Furlong was added to the Great Britain central training programme at the start of the year and has made such an impact that he’s now found himself a place on the Eurostar for Paris 2024.
“That’s obviously always been the goal. I came in in full time in January and it was just a case of really trying to do my best, play as well as I can and give myself an opportunity really. “
He joins fellow Wales internationals Jacob Draper and Rupert Shipperley in the Paris 2024 squad. To put this into context, Wales has had three players play for Great Britain men at an Olympics in the last 24 years: David Hacker in 2000 and Rupert Shipperley and Jacob Draper in 2020. To have three players in one squad this time around shows the strides they are making.
“I think it’s massive for another Welsh player to be in the squad. I guess it’s part of our journey as Wales in the last four or five years where we’ve been on a steady climb, increasing the ranking. It’s fun sharing as much of that with Jacob Draper, Rupert Shipperley and Toby Reynolds-Cotterill as it is with everyone else so yes, it’s incredibly special.”
Undoubtedly, Furlong’s prowess from penalty corners will have helped get him into the final squad. 85% of his international goals have come from penalty corners and another 11% from penalty strokes. With international matches being decided by fine margins, having a penalty corner routine you can bank on could be the difference between success and failure. It’s a role Furlong has no qualms taking responsibility for:
“It’s something I’m used to. Something I’ve trained for a long time. I guess it’s the benefit of being an experienced player in terms of Wales caps. So yeah, nothing changes really, I prepare the same way and back myself to execute it.”
I ask him, last minute. Gold medal match. Penalty corner. Score is 2-2. Up you step. Do you fancy a bit of that?
He laughs and then adds:
“I’d back it. You’ve got to. You’ve got to be confident. You’ve got to back your skills in those moments so yes if that happens, bring it on!”
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