Ulster Bank League
Division 1A
St Mary’s College (6th) v Lansdowne (2nd)
Templeville Road — 7.30pm tonight (Friday, 25 November)
It will be interesting to see what impact the recent break in fixtures has on these sides, mid-table St. Mary’s having lost their last two games by tight margins and Lansdowne winning three on the bounce to rise to second overall.
Lansdowne’s strength in depth is pushing through in timely fashion, ex-Buccaneer Jacob Walshe and U20 number eight Paul Boyle shining in a superb pack effort against UCD (45-10), along with rock-solid lock Willie Earle who has now made 101 league appearances for the club.
Ten tries scored in 160 minutes of rugby tells you how well the St. Mary’s attack is faring. It is their defending that really needs to sharpen up. Injuries and player unavailability remain issues for Jamie Cornett’s men, who are winless at home, seven rounds in.
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Terenure College (10th) v Clontarf (8th)
Lakelands Park — 7.30pm tonight (Friday, 25 November)
Terenure College and Clontarf are both going through difficult periods at the moment. The pair clashed in the 2015 Division 1A semi-finals but are currently taking up two of the bottom three rungs in the table.
Clontarf could do with a dose of Mick McGrath magic, the hirsute winger having returned to action in their round seven defeat at Cork Constitution. A win by any margin at Lakelands would suffice for the results-starved north Dubliners.
Terenure have lost their last four on the bounce, their luck deserting them at times and especially against Young Munster last time out. Key back-rowers James O’Neill and Kyle McCoy, this season’s captain, are setting high standards that their team-mates must match.
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UCD (9th) v Old Belvedere (5th)
Belfield Bowl — 7.30pm tonight (Friday, 25 November)
UCD endured a 35-point hammering by Lansdowne in the previous round, but would have been much closer had they finished a series of promising attacks. In the end, a superb dummy and sprint through from captain Jamie Glynn — his fourth try of the campaign — was their only five-pointer.
Like the students, Old Belvedere fell two places in the standings after a frustrating 27-7 home loss to Trinity. If they cut down on the turnovers and have Steve Crosbie back in the side, ‘Belvo might just avenge last season’s 20-12 reversal at Belfield.
UCD’s Bowl has been a hive of activity this month, including the hosting of three Ireland Women’s internationals, and another sizable crowd is expected tonight with student card holders admitted free of charge, and free Christmas-themed food on offer.
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Young Munster (1st) v Garryowen (7th)
Tom Clifford Park — 7.30pm tonight (Friday, 25 November)
Given the positions of these Limerick rivals in the table, you could chalk this down as a comfortable home win. But Garryowen showed in their 43-38 bonus-point win over St. Mary’s that they will fight tooth and nail for a result.
Sam Arnold, who will make his Munster debut tomorrow, and David Johnston were the pick of their backs behind a resilient pack. However, Garryowen’s maul defence let them down at times and that is an area the table-topping Cookies are sure to target, with scrum half Rob Guerin (four tries) also waiting to pounce.
Last season’s corresponding fixture ended in a 16-all draw, hooker Liam McMahon’s try bringing Garryowen level in the final 10 minutes. The Light Blues lost April’s rematch 14-8, with winger Michael Vaughan’s late intercept score settling the issue.
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Dublin University (3rd) v Cork Constitution (4th)
College Park — 2pm tomorrow (Saturday, 26 November)
This would be a brilliant appetiser to take in before Ireland’s 5.30pm clash with Australia. Just scoring difference has third-placed Trinity ahead of visitors Cork Constitution in the top-flight standings.
Constitution’s form is marginally better with four wins in a row, out-half Tomas Quinlan (69 points) and full-back Shane Daly (five tries) continuing to excel in the scoring stakes. Jack McDermott (65 points) and Colm Hogan (five tries) have made similar contributions for the students so far.
Tony Smeeth’s youngsters were hugely impressive in eclipsing current leaders Young Munster (27-7) last time out and if they can hit the heights of that performance again, they should claim another big scalp from the south.
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Division 1B
UCC (7th) v Dolphin (9th)
The Mardyke — 7.30pm tonight (Friday, 25 November)
Cork rivals UCC and Dolphin may be in the bottom half of the table, but their inspirational defensive stands against Ballynahinch and Naas respectively show they should be closer to the division’s business end.
As well as winning 15-10 away to ‘Hinch in round seven, UCC have beaten both Ballymena and Shannon at their Mardyke base, while Dolphin — who were five-point winners against Naas — are yet to win away from home this season.
Tries have been hard to come by for both sides so it could be left to UCC’s top scorer Kevin O’Keeffe (61 points) and whomever Dolphin have on kicking duty (Cian McGovern and Cillian Monahan both kicked in Barry Keeshan’s absence a fortnight ago) to decide the outcome of this floodlit derby.
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Naas (5th) v UL Bohemians (2nd)
Forenaughts — 2pm tomorrow (Saturday, 26 November)
A big test for both sides as Naas look to bounce back into the top four and UL Bohemians try to match the efforts of new leaders Buccaneers who were 24-16 winners at Forenaughts last month.
The fifth-placed Kildare men have been grinding out results as the division’s third-lowest scorers, but they will need to take as many chances as possible against Bohs, who are averaging 27 points per game.
Naas player-coach Johne Murphy said: “It was a disappointing one for us down in Dolphin in the last round. But we’re still in the hunt, so if we can kick on and win these last two games before Christmas, we’re right in the mix going forward into next year.”
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Ballynahinch (6th) v Ballymena (4th)
Ballymacarn Park — 2.30pm tomorrow (Saturday, 26 November)
Ballynahinch have struggled noticeably at home in the league this season, a run of three defeats in their last four games seeing them slip down into the bottom half of the table.
‘Hinch, who advanced to another Ulster Senior Cup final last week, certainly have the players to challenge for promotion. Injuries rule out Aaron Cairns, John Donnan and Lorcan Dow, but the Ulster trio of Sam Windsor, Johnny McPhillips and David Busby should feature in the backs.
Ballymena got back to winning ways in a thrilling 69-point contest with Galwegians, and they look to have the stronger squad for this Ulster derby, with Kieran Treadwell and captain David Whann combining in the second row and the fit-again Ritchie McMaster, who kicked 15 crucial points against ‘Wegians, joining Dave Shanahan at half-back.
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Shannon (10th) v Old Wesley (3rd)
Coonagh — 2.30pm tomorrow (Saturday, 26 November)
Coonagh is the venue for Shannon’s fourth home fixture of the league season. Marcus Horan’s young side started the month with a 17-10 dismissal of Dolphin and they are hoping to end it by upsetting third-placed Old Wesley.
November has been a positive period for the Parish club with five points gained from their last two outings. Wesley, though, might have too much quality, especially if ace place-kicker Barry McLaughlin (89 points) pushed past the century mark.
Looking to rebound from a 27-point hammering by Buccs, Morgan Lennon’s charges are tough to live with when they put their chances away. Indeed, Wesley have picked up three try-scoring bonus points in the last four rounds.
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Division 2A
Sunday’s Well v Nenagh Ormond
Musgrave Park — 2pm, Saturday
Banbridge v Galway Corinthians
Rifle Park — 2.30pm, Saturday
Belfast Harlequins v Queens University
Deramore Park — 2.30pm, Saturday
Blackrock College v Malone
Stradbrook — 2.30pm, Saturday
Cashel v Highfield
Spafield — 2.30pm, Saturday
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Division 2B
Bective Rangers v MU Barnhall
Donnybrook — 7.30pm, Friday
Greystones v Armagh
Dr Hickey Park — 2pm, Saturday
Wanderers v Skerries
Merrion Road — 2pm, Saturday
City Of Derry v Dungannon
Judge’s Road — 2.30pm, Saturday
Old Crescent v Thomond
Rosbrien — 2.30pm, Saturday
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Division 2C
Boyne v Tullamore
Shamrock Lodge — 2pm, Saturday
Seapoint v Sligo
Kilbogget Park — 2pm, Saturday
Bangor v Bruff
Upritchard Park — 2.30pm, Saturday
Midleton v Navan
Towns Park — 2.30pm, Saturday
Rainey v Kanturk
Hatrick Park — 2.30pm, Saturday