Surbiton Ladies compete in Europe for the first time in their history this weekend, taking part in the EuroHockey Clubs Champions Cup in Bilthoven, writes Colin Pike.

Head coach Brett Garrard’s team, unbeaten in all competitions this season, take on Spanish club Club De Campo in the quarter-finals today.

Surbiton, England’s toip ranked club, are joined in Bilthoven by Canterbury, – 3-0 losers to Surbiton in last season’s Women’s Hockey League championship final – who will take on hosts, S.C.H.C.

Surbiton will play either Dutch club HC’s Hertogenbosch or Russian club, CSP Izmailovo in in the semi-finals as they chase an unprecedented cleansweep of domestic and European trophies.

Surbiton’s Jo Hunter was a member of the Leicester squad which won last season’s EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy at Loughborough, beating CSP Izmailovo 2-1 in the final.

That win was significant as England’s international club ranking rose to second, allowing two clubs to enter the highest ranked competition this year.

The Sugden Road club will use their maiden European trip as experience, before returning to England to defend their league and cup titles later this month.