CANTERBURY'S teenage Welsh forward Huw Stevens is preparing to take part in his first major international tournament.

The Pontypridd-born son of Canterbury first team manager Dave Stevens, has spent the summer on duty for his country.

He is in the 18-man senior squad for the EuroHockey Division 1 Championships, which start this weekend in Lisbon.

At the tournament eight teams will compete for two promotion spots to the A Division - in which England competed in Manchester last month.

Wales face Switzerland, Scotland and Ukraine in their group with the top-two playing off for the right to play in the final, probably against much-fancied Poland. The two finalists will automatically be promoted.

Over the past two months Stevens - who lives in Boughton - has represented Wales in the Czech Republic and Belgium and last month played two games against Portugal to get acclimatised to the conditions.

He hopes some good performances for his country could push him into contention for a starting berth at Canterbury when he returns ahead of the Slazenger English Hockey Premier League season.