Lily Owsley knows what it feels like to taste success at the EuroHockey Championships. In 2015 in only her second Euros, she scored in the final as England saw off the Netherlands in a shootout to pick up a glorious gold medal in front of a partisan home crowd in London.
Owsley is going into her seventh EuroHockey Championships this year. Whilst her career has been littered with success and medals along the way, England and Great Britain have found themselves in leaner times in recent years: No podium finish in this competition since 2017. Knocked out in the quarter finals of the Paris Olympics. Fending off relegation in the latest edition of the Pro League, it has been far from plain sailing for David Ralph’s side. And yet, Owsley is convinced something great is just around the corner.
“We’ve been on the precipice of something, it’s not quite come together yet. For the first time in a while, it really feels like it’s almost there. It feels like such an exciting time. I think we’ve taken a big step up and what we’ve been trying to achieve is finally paying off.
“At the same time, where other teams are going through a bit of a rebuilding phase, this is a huge opportunity and I don’t want it to pass us by.”
Players stepping up.
Owsley and goalkeeper Sabbie Heesh are the only ones still in the squad from that 2015 gold medal-winning side and have both had to watch as key players from the successful teams of the past have called time on their careers. Owsley however is seeing the green shoots of progress from some players who are starting to show their worth on the international stage.
“There are players that have stepped into their second cycle and have now gained a lot of leadership and experience and they’re playing a different role, which I think has suited them.
“You’ve got Flora Peel and Lily Walker as captains. Liv Hamilton and Lizzie Neal are probably others – the ones who last cycle didn’t really get a look in and maybe didn’t have the confidence and backing, but sometimes in sport you have to wait for your time. They were given an opportunity, and they’ve taken it with both hands.”
“A few of the new girls are so exciting. You’ve got Maddie Axford banging in goals, Katie Curtis has got some unbelievable skills. That freshness and that excitement is really infectious through the team and you know, I have many caps, but when I came back from Argentina, I also I felt new and I felt excited at what we are working towards.”
‘I just want to celebrate with my team.’
Undoubtedly the European championship is one of the toughest titles to win – with five of the world’s top eight teams, including the seemingly invincible Dutch vying for the crown. Owsley recognises the challenge but has also tasted success in this competition, winning gold, silver and bronze medals over the years. She’s desperate to restore this England side to those former glories this time around:
“I think we lost a bit of identity but that’s coming back. Winning a medal would feel like, well I mean not only because ‘oh my f*****g God, I just want to celebrate a win and go out and celebrate with the team’ but also because these are the moments that you play for. It almost feels like this distant memory, being with your team and your family and your friends after a tournament and celebrating, really celebrating.
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“You miss these moments and you look back, I was looking at photos the other day and they’re really funny memories that you hold on to and you keep. I just want to celebrate with my team.
“But for me winning a medal would be more than that. It is what would make us show up after the Euros and just want to get our heads down and go for the next one and go for the World Cup and go for the Olympics.
“We need that spark to show us that what we can see in our training is paying off, but I just want to show everyone else. I just want people to see it and start to fear us again.”
“I think it’s close. And I think winning a medal would do that. We’d start to be respected again. And I think people would start to be like, they’ve turned around and they’re on the way up now. I want us to feel like we’re on the way up.”
England begin their campaign on Sunday 10 August 2025 against Scotland, they then face Belgium the following day before their final pool match against Spain on Wednesday 13 August.
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