Saturday's club previews including AIL Division 2B, Powerade Towns Cup Quarter Finals and McCrea Cup Quarter Finals.
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE
Division 2B
Dungannon v Sundays Well
Head Coach Andy Hughes was delighted with the effort put in by his players when they won 9 - 7 away to league leaders City of Derry last weekend. The coaches had asked for a performance that showed character and belief regardless of the result and he felt they got that. He was sure Derry are ruing a few of the decisions they made while playing with the wind. Dungannon got that bit of luck they needed to come away with the win, that is massive for the team going forward. It has definitely given the players a lot of confidence, but they are not getting carried away. One result does not make a season and the team are all aware that unless they are 100% focused going into the game this weekend they will struggle. Sundays Well are on a great run, winning their last ten games so they will be coming to Dungannon with a lot of confidence. Like every Munster side they will be physical and extremely tough to break down. The players have to stick to implementing our own game plan and trusting our systems.
The coach makes one change due to the unavailability of Jake Finlay who is replaced by John Buckley with the experienced James Bates taking his place on the bench. Dungannon v Sundays Well. Kick off 1pm.
POWERADE TOWNS CUP QUARTER FINAL
Ballymoney v Omagh
Head Coach Jimmy Carson was disappointed with his team in their 22 - 0 defeat at Enniskillen last Saturday. Enniskillen came out of the blocks very aggressively in the opening 20 minutes and put Ballymoney under a lot of pressure. He admitted that the Enniskillen team really wanted the win. They played well and he had no complaints about the result. For this weekend he has injury doubts over forwards Garvin Bellingham and Joel Heggarty. He is hoping his team get off to a fast start and learn from the experience at Enniskillen. Ballymoney are hoping to repeat the 25 - 24 win over Dromore in the previous round when the side came back from 21 - 8 to win.
What has brought about the revival in fortunes of Omagh Rugby Club? This week I had the opportunity to catch up with their Head Coach, Philip Marshall. Speaking on their impressive 18 - 5 win over Portadown last weekend. The coaches and the players had a sit down after the 1st XV defeat at Cooke. It was agreed there needed to be a step up in their performance. Against Portadown the team played with a high tempo for the full 80 mins. The performance was in marked contrast to the loss at Cooke.
Marshall has been involved in coaching rugby for 20 years, since he first got involved at Omagh Academy. Six years ago Omagh RFC approached him and asked him would he take over as Head Coach at the club. The 1st XV were on the verge of dropping down into Q3. There was no player pool and no money in the club. The committees running the club were ineffective and the slide needed to be arrested. On his terms he demanded change with new, younger members coming on to committees. The club needed to be resurrected with a new vitality injected into it. Marshall agreed a plan with the club and asked to be given five years to develop his proposed project. As he said there needed to be changes. One area that concerned him was the playing resources in the club. Players were unfit and attitudes needed to be changed. Preseason was a culture shock, he beasted the players. This approach hurt a lot of people but was required if Omagh was to become a force again within Ulster rugby. There was an identified need to purchase equipment and develop the playing surfaces and training pitches at the club. Very quickly with new committees in place progress seen an improvement in the playing structures of the club. New fundraising initiatives provided the funding to start progressing much needed work on the grounds. This new approach was not without its opposition but gradually these members were won over as the club at all levels started to turn the corner.
Phil Marshall has been a Community Development coach supported by Ulster Rugby and Omagh RFC. This has enabled Phil to combine his role as Head Coach and as a Development coach in engaging schools in the wider Omagh area to allow him to introduce rugby to previously non playing rugby schools. The work in both the primary and secondary sector has increased the numbers of school children joining the clubs mini and youth sections.
Back at Omagh RFC, Phil Marshall had to shoulder the burden in his first two or three years as coach, managing 40/50 players each week. The new committees and the coach continued to think positively as they were able to encourage former players and parents to commit to helping the club. There was a recognition that long serving members needed to be replaced. This has been a process that has been allowed to evolve in recent years. There was no point in having people on committees if they were not prepared to work for the best interests of the club.
Efforts by the committee members has led to the club raising £200,000 to enable drainage and floodlighting work to be carried out to the pitches along with the installation of a much needed gym. These results have demonstrated to the club members and the wider community that the rugby club in Omagh is worth investing in.
New additions to the coaching team included Mark Neill, Ashley Blair and James Kane along with Adrian Hamilton and Glen Warnock. The commitment of these coaches has seen the club make siginificant progress in recent seasons. The 1st XV secured promotion to Q1 this season. Last season they made the Junior Cup Final, losing out in a thrilling final to Q1 league champions Instonians. This season they lost out to Instonians in the Junior Cup semi final. The seconds won the Crawford Cup last season and along with the clubs third XV are the main contenders for league honours in Junior One and Two. What an achievement in such a short space of time. No one person can do it on their own but in this case having a person like Phil Marshall with the foresight and determination to turn around the fortunes of Omagh RFC has been one of the real success stories in Ulster rugby.
What are the lessons to be learned by other rugby clubs.
1. Invest in Youth
2. Committees and Coaching staff to work together
3. Cut out negativity within your club. Promote a positive environment.
4. Clubs need to be honest with themselves. Have they the resources and personnel to compete at the level they are playing at.
Clogher Valley v Portadown
This is the third meeting between these two teams this season. In the first two matches played within eight days at the end of October/beginning of November, Clogher Valley first defeated Portadown 17 - 0 in the league and a week later at Chambers Park 32 - 11 in the Junior Cup. Last season's losing finalists Clogher Valley will be hoping to return to Kingspan Stadium in the clubs 25th anniversary season to reclaim the Towns Cup. Portadown suffered a surprise 18 - 5 defeat at Omagh last Saturday and will need to raise their game if they are to win this match at the Cran.
Clogher coaches Glen Kyle and Davy Black pick from a strong squad strengthened by the return of inflential outhalf Philip Holme to partner Aaron Best with props Philip Hopper and Philip Moore rotating in the front row. Back row Alastair Trenier picked up an injury in training this week and is ruled out. Mark McKenna makes his first start in the second row with his brother Eugene joining Captain David Sharkey and No. 8 Ryan Wilson in the back row. Clogher Valley will be favourites but they will not underestimate the threat Portadown pose.
Portadown Head Coach, Richard Hedley was very disappointed with his teams performance in their defeat at Omagh. His players struggled with performing the basics in the wet and heavy conditions. This weekend he welcomes back into the squad Gareth McCoy, Matthew Wilson and Brian Forrestal with Neil Irwin unavailable. The coach is aware that this is a big game on Saturday and that it doesn't get any harder than travelling to Clogher. There is the opportunity to play one of the top teams and bounce back from last week's disappointment.
Donaghadee v Bangor
New Head Coach John West welcomes neighbours Bangor to Donaldson Park for this tasty Towns Cup encounter. Much has changed from the first meeting in August when Bangor won the Rodney Gray Cup 45 - 3 at the Dee. There is a positivety in the air with the team winning three from four under the new coach. There will be disappointment the team has not played in the last two weeks with league matches against Larne and Academy having to be postponed. The game this weekend will see another Dee player Jack Cooke leaving these shores to join Alastair Lockhart, David Murray and Rory Garnham in experiencing life in Australia. The former Campbell College player has become a popular figure on the 1st XV with his leadership and work rate on the pitch this season. On the positive side, the coach will welcome the return of Richard Martindale, Stuart Hutchison and Matty Martin to his playing squad. Donaghadee made the semi finals last season and were finalists in 2013/14. They have built up a strong pedigree in this competition and will provide stiff opposition for current Junior Cup holders Bangor.
Bangor Head Coach Jason Morgan and his players are involved in a nail biting duel with Instonians for the Q1 title this season. His players required a late score at Dromore to win 7 - 3 on Saturday to maintain their title challenge.
His players are looking forward to what should be a cracking end to the season. This weekend they are sending a full strength team to play the Dee for two reasons.
"One - we know how good the Dee can be and they will lift themselves for the big games and for both clubs it doesn't get any bigger than this derby. It gives all the players that extra lift in intensity and we know this one will be no different. The other being that with the league, it could still be anyones to take and could come down to who can secure the bonus points from here on in. This could be out of our control so we will do all we can to make sure we go as far as we can in the Cup. The players would like to win it as the club hasn't for some time.
"This Cup in particular means a lot to the older members who played for the club a long time ago. For us to rest players this week could mean we don't win and that compounds the league situation. With 7/8 games to go we see each game as a Cup Final. A lot of hard work has gone in from the players with them playing an insane number of matches and the reality is the hard work starts now."
In terms of selection this weekend Michael Ferguson comes into the front row along side Conor McEvoy at hooker and Phil Whyte. Darren Kelly is restored to the second row alongside Craig Burton. Mike Weir takes his place in the back row along with Captain Jamie Clegg and David Bradford. Jason Guthrie and Jason Morgan continue at nine and ten. Ross McCloskey and Robert Gamble are in the centre with Davy Charles and Mark Widdowson on the wings and Adam McCusker at full back. Both Orran McIImurray and James McMullan will take their place on the bench. Injury has ruled out hooker Andrew Jackson. Both Curtis Stewart and Desi Fusco continue their rehabilitation after injury.
Enniskillen v Ballynahinch 2 XV
Both these teams met in the quarter finals of the Towns Cup at Mullaghmeen last season with Ballynahinch running out comfortable 44 - 3 winners. Holders Ballynahinch have already shown this season in their wins over Ards and Carrickfergus that they are not going to relinquish their grip on retaining the Towns Cup. With Ballynahinch 1sts having no game this weekend Enniskillen can expect to face a very strong Ballynahinch team.
Enniskillen Head Coach Norman Richmond is aware that it will take a focused 80 mins from his players to win this Cup tie.
FIXTURES
Ballymoney v Omagh
Clogher Valley v Portadown
Donaghadee v Bangor
Enniskillen v Ballynahinch seconds
McCREA CUP QUARTER FINALS
Academy v Belfast Harlequins
The North Belfast side continued their remarkable league run that saw them defeat league leaders, Carrickfergus last Saturday 11 - 3 at the Toms Simms Memorial Grounds after three straight league wins over Enniskillen, Coleraine and Randalstown. Head Coach Gareth Lynn was delighted with the performance of his side who were missing several regular 1st XV players as they were away at winger Norman Carson's stag weekend. He even considered including himself in the match day squad. The players who stepped up were excellent and did themselves and the club proud. It makes this weekend's team selection very difficult with selection delayed until last night. Their opponents this weekend Belfast Harlequins will provide stiff opposition with the Deramore 1st XV not playing.
CIYMS v Malone 2 XV
The misery continues to pile up for coach Gareth Fry and his CIYMS players as they conceded six tries in a 40 - 5 defeat at home to league champions, Instonians on Wednesday night. Can a run in the McCrea Cup this season lift the morale of the players and coaches? Fry continues to deal with a lengthy injury list that impacts on his selection with the opportunities for new faces to play on the 1st XV. His focus for this week was to have two competitive teams out for the league match with Instonians and the Cup match against Malone seconds on Saturday. Both these teams met in the quarter finals of the McCrea Cup last season with the Gibson Park side running out 37 - 17 winners.
Cooke v Grosvenor
Head Coach Colin Atkinson was delighted to see his team continue their recent good form with another win over Ards at Hamilton Park 8 - 3. Unfortunately the win came at a price with both Andrew Nelson and Sam Bridge suffering serious shoulder injuries that could rule them out for the remainder of the season. Captain Philip Cartmill faces surgery tommorrow after being injured in the match against Instonians. The coach is looking forward to the return of winger Andrew Pollock who has been out since October. We all remember the four tries he scored for his team in the final against Queen's seconds last season before losing 26 - 24. Liam Bennett, David Elliott and Josh Harpur are all contenders for a starting place this weekend. Both these teams met in the quarter finals last season with Cooke winning 41 - 15.
There has been change at Grosvenor with Head Coach Alasdair McKee departing. This season has been difficult for the Belmont side as they fight to retain their position in Q2. They came up short at Blaris against fellow strugglers Lisburn last weekend before losing losing 25 - 22.
Queen's 2nd XV v Instonians
Last season Queen's defeated Instonians 22 - 6 on their way to winning a dramatic McCrea Cup final against Cooke 26 -24. Can the students repeat their form this season. Queen's manager Chris Moore will look to see what team Instonians select after their matches against Enniscorthy and CIYMS with the Shaw's Bridge side having to play three matches in eight days. The students will be hoping that players including Saul Herdman, Duncan Maguire and Peter Storey will be available. He acknowledges it will be tough as they have lost eleven of last years team. Of the four remaining only Craig Devlin is fit. He sees this season as a transition year, but as holders of the Cup they will give their best with the game being played on the Arena pitch.
There was disappointment for William Leacock and his Instonians players after losing their AIL Junior Cup final to Enniscorthy last Saturday 23 - 7. After viewing the video footage, the coach was happy his players played some good rugby. They made four mistakes and conceded four tries. Enniscorthy were ruthless and punished the team's mistakes. They were hard to break down and defended superbly throughout the 80 mins. The coach brought in Mark Mairs and Mike Blackwood for the game at CIYMS on Wednesday with both Rory McCurry and Harry Cleland ruled out through injury. He was delaying selection for the Queen's match until Thursday night. The Instonians team were clear winners at CIYMS tonight scoring six tries in their 40 - 5 win to draw level on points with Bangor. Both sides have six league matches remaining.
FIXTURES
Academy v Belfast Harlequins 2nd XV
CIYMS v Malone 2 XV
Cooke v Grosvenor
Queen's 2nd XV v Instonians
ULSTER BANK ALL IRELAND LEAGUE
Division 2B
Dungannon v Sundays Well
Head Coach Andy Hughes was delighted with the effort put in by his players when they won 9 - 7 away to league leaders City of Derry last weekend. The coaches had asked for a performance that showed character and belief regardless of the result and he felt they got that. He was sure Derry are ruing a few of the decisions they made while playing with the wind. Dungannon got that bit of luck they needed to come away with the win, that is massive for the team going forward. It has definitely given the players a lot of confidence, but they are not getting carried away. One result does not make a season and the team are all aware that unless they are 100% focused going into the game this weekend they will struggle. Sundays Well are on a great run, winning their last ten games so they will be coming to Dungannon with a lot of confidence. Like every Munster side they will be physical and extremely tough to break down. The players have to stick to implementing our own game plan and trusting our systems.
The coach makes one change due to the unavailability of Jake Finlay who is replaced by John Buckley with the experienced James Bates taking his place on the bench. Dungannon v Sundays Well. Kick off 1pm.
POWERADE TOWNS CUP QUARTER FINAL
Ballymoney v Omagh
Head Coach Jimmy Carson was disappointed with his team in their 22 - 0 defeat at Enniskillen last Saturday. Enniskillen came out of the blocks very aggressively in the opening 20 minutes and put Ballymoney under a lot of pressure. He admitted that the Enniskillen team really wanted the win. They played well and he had no complaints about the result. For this weekend he has injury doubts over forwards Garvin Bellingham and Joel Heggarty. He is hoping his team get off to a fast start and learn from the experience at Enniskillen. Ballymoney are hoping to repeat the 25 - 24 win over Dromore in the previous round when the side came back from 21 - 8 to win.
What has brought about the revival in fortunes of Omagh Rugby Club? This week I had the opportunity to catch up with their Head Coach, Philip Marshall. Speaking on their impressive 18 - 5 win over Portadown last weekend. The coaches and the players had a sit down after the 1st XV defeat at Cooke. It was agreed there needed to be a step up in their performance. Against Portadown the team played with a high tempo for the full 80 mins. The performance was in marked contrast to the loss at Cooke.
Marshall has been involved in coaching rugby for 20 years, since he first got involved at Omagh Academy. Six years ago Omagh RFC approached him and asked him would he take over as Head Coach at the club. The 1st XV were on the verge of dropping down into Q3. There was no player pool and no money in the club. The committees running the club were ineffective and the slide needed to be arrested. On his terms he demanded change with new, younger members coming on to committees. The club needed to be resurrected with a new vitality injected into it. Marshall agreed a plan with the club and asked to be given five years to develop his proposed project. As he said there needed to be changes. One area that concerned him was the playing resources in the club. Players were unfit and attitudes needed to be changed. Preseason was a culture shock, he beasted the players. This approach hurt a lot of people but was required if Omagh was to become a force again within Ulster rugby. There was an identified need to purchase equipment and develop the playing surfaces and training pitches at the club. Very quickly with new committees in place progress seen an improvement in the playing structures of the club. New fundraising initiatives provided the funding to start progressing much needed work on the grounds. This new approach was not without its opposition but gradually these members were won over as the club at all levels started to turn the corner.
Phil Marshall has been a Community Development coach supported by Ulster Rugby and Omagh RFC. This has enabled Phil to combine his role as Head Coach and as a Development coach in engaging schools in the wider Omagh area to allow him to introduce rugby to previously non playing rugby schools. The work in both the primary and secondary sector has increased the numbers of school children joining the clubs mini and youth sections.
Back at Omagh RFC, Phil Marshall had to shoulder the burden in his first two or three years as coach, managing 40/50 players each week. The new committees and the coach continued to think positively as they were able to encourage former players and parents to commit to helping the club. There was a recognition that long serving members needed to be replaced. This has been a process that has been allowed to evolve in recent years. There was no point in having people on committees if they were not prepared to work for the best interests of the club.
Efforts by the committee members has led to the club raising £200,000 to enable drainage and floodlighting work to be carried out to the pitches along with the installation of a much needed gym. These results have demonstrated to the club members and the wider community that the rugby club in Omagh is worth investing in.
New additions to the coaching team included Mark Neill, Ashley Blair and James Kane along with Adrian Hamilton and Glen Warnock. The commitment of these coaches has seen the club make siginificant progress in recent seasons. The 1st XV secured promotion to Q1 this season. Last season they made the Junior Cup Final, losing out in a thrilling final to Q1 league champions Instonians. This season they lost out to Instonians in the Junior Cup semi final. The seconds won the Crawford Cup last season and along with the clubs third XV are the main contenders for league honours in Junior One and Two. What an achievement in such a short space of time. No one person can do it on their own but in this case having a person like Phil Marshall with the foresight and determination to turn around the fortunes of Omagh RFC has been one of the real success stories in Ulster rugby.
What are the lessons to be learned by other rugby clubs.
1. Invest in Youth
2. Committees and Coaching staff to work together
3. Cut out negativity within your club. Promote a positive environment.
4. Clubs need to be honest with themselves. Have they the resources and personnel to compete at the level they are playing at.
Clogher Valley v Portadown
This is the third meeting between these two teams this season. In the first two matches played within eight days at the end of October/beginning of November, Clogher Valley first defeated Portadown 17 - 0 in the league and a week later at Chambers Park 32 - 11 in the Junior Cup. Last season's losing finalists Clogher Valley will be hoping to return to Kingspan Stadium in the clubs 25th anniversary season to reclaim the Towns Cup. Portadown suffered a surprise 18 - 5 defeat at Omagh last Saturday and will need to raise their game if they are to win this match at the Cran.
Clogher coaches Glen Kyle and Davy Black pick from a strong squad strengthened by the return of inflential outhalf Philip Holme to partner Aaron Best with props Philip Hopper and Philip Moore rotating in the front row. Back row Alastair Trenier picked up an injury in training this week and is ruled out. Mark McKenna makes his first start in the second row with his brother Eugene joining Captain David Sharkey and No. 8 Ryan Wilson in the back row. Clogher Valley will be favourites but they will not underestimate the threat Portadown pose.
Portadown Head Coach, Richard Hedley was very disappointed with his teams performance in their defeat at Omagh. His players struggled with performing the basics in the wet and heavy conditions. This weekend he welcomes back into the squad Gareth McCoy, Matthew Wilson and Brian Forrestal with Neil Irwin unavailable. The coach is aware that this is a big game on Saturday and that it doesn't get any harder than travelling to Clogher. There is the opportunity to play one of the top teams and bounce back from last week's disappointment.
Donaghadee v Bangor
New Head Coach John West welcomes neighbours Bangor to Donaldson Park for this tasty Towns Cup encounter. Much has changed from the first meeting in August when Bangor won the Rodney Gray Cup 45 - 3 at the Dee. There is a positivety in the air with the team winning three from four under the new coach. There will be disappointment the team has not played in the last two weeks with league matches against Larne and Academy having to be postponed. The game this weekend will see another Dee player Jack Cooke leaving these shores to join Alastair Lockhart, David Murray and Rory Garnham in experiencing life in Australia. The former Campbell College player has become a popular figure on the 1st XV with his leadership and work rate on the pitch this season. On the positive side, the coach will welcome the return of Richard Martindale, Stuart Hutchison and Matty Martin to his playing squad. Donaghadee made the semi finals last season and were finalists in 2013/14. They have built up a strong pedigree in this competition and will provide stiff opposition for current Junior Cup holders Bangor.
Bangor Head Coach Jason Morgan and his players are involved in a nail biting duel with Instonians for the Q1 title this season. His players required a late score at Dromore to win 7 - 3 on Saturday to maintain their title challenge.
His players are looking forward to what should be a cracking end to the season. This weekend they are sending a full strength team to play the Dee for two reasons.
"One - we know how good the Dee can be and they will lift themselves for the big games and for both clubs it doesn't get any bigger than this derby. It gives all the players that extra lift in intensity and we know this one will be no different. The other being that with the league, it could still be anyones to take and could come down to who can secure the bonus points from here on in. This could be out of our control so we will do all we can to make sure we go as far as we can in the Cup. The players would like to win it as the club hasn't for some time.
"This Cup in particular means a lot to the older members who played for the club a long time ago. For us to rest players this week could mean we don't win and that compounds the league situation. With 7/8 games to go we see each game as a Cup Final. A lot of hard work has gone in from the players with them playing an insane number of matches and the reality is the hard work starts now."
In terms of selection this weekend Michael Ferguson comes into the front row along side Conor McEvoy at hooker and Phil Whyte. Darren Kelly is restored to the second row alongside Craig Burton. Mike Weir takes his place in the back row along with Captain Jamie Clegg and David Bradford. Jason Guthrie and Jason Morgan continue at nine and ten. Ross McCloskey and Robert Gamble are in the centre with Davy Charles and Mark Widdowson on the wings and Adam McCusker at full back. Both Orran McIImurray and James McMullan will take their place on the bench. Injury has ruled out hooker Andrew Jackson. Both Curtis Stewart and Desi Fusco continue their rehabilitation after injury.
Enniskillen v Ballynahinch 2 XV
Both these teams met in the quarter finals of the Towns Cup at Mullaghmeen last season with Ballynahinch running out comfortable 44 - 3 winners. Holders Ballynahinch have already shown this season in their wins over Ards and Carrickfergus that they are not going to relinquish their grip on retaining the Towns Cup. With Ballynahinch 1sts having no game this weekend Enniskillen can expect to face a very strong Ballynahinch team.
Enniskillen Head Coach Norman Richmond is aware that it will take a focused 80 mins from his players to win this Cup tie.
FIXTURES
Ballymoney v Omagh
Clogher Valley v Portadown
Donaghadee v Bangor
Enniskillen v Ballynahinch seconds
McCREA CUP QUARTER FINALS
Academy v Belfast Harlequins
The North Belfast side continued their remarkable league run that saw them defeat league leaders, Carrickfergus last Saturday 11 - 3 at the Toms Simms Memorial Grounds after three straight league wins over Enniskillen, Coleraine and Randalstown. Head Coach Gareth Lynn was delighted with the performance of his side who were missing several regular 1st XV players as they were away at winger Norman Carson's stag weekend. He even considered including himself in the match day squad. The players who stepped up were excellent and did themselves and the club proud. It makes this weekend's team selection very difficult with selection delayed until last night. Their opponents this weekend Belfast Harlequins will provide stiff opposition with the Deramore 1st XV not playing.
CIYMS v Malone 2 XV
The misery continues to pile up for coach Gareth Fry and his CIYMS players as they conceded six tries in a 40 - 5 defeat at home to league champions, Instonians on Wednesday night. Can a run in the McCrea Cup this season lift the morale of the players and coaches? Fry continues to deal with a lengthy injury list that impacts on his selection with the opportunities for new faces to play on the 1st XV. His focus for this week was to have two competitive teams out for the league match with Instonians and the Cup match against Malone seconds on Saturday. Both these teams met in the quarter finals of the McCrea Cup last season with the Gibson Park side running out 37 - 17 winners.
Cooke v Grosvenor
Head Coach Colin Atkinson was delighted to see his team continue their recent good form with another win over Ards at Hamilton Park 8 - 3. Unfortunately the win came at a price with both Andrew Nelson and Sam Bridge suffering serious shoulder injuries that could rule them out for the remainder of the season. Captain Philip Cartmill faces surgery tommorrow after being injured in the match against Instonians. The coach is looking forward to the return of winger Andrew Pollock who has been out since October. We all remember the four tries he scored for his team in the final against Queen's seconds last season before losing 26 - 24. Liam Bennett, David Elliott and Josh Harpur are all contenders for a starting place this weekend. Both these teams met in the quarter finals last season with Cooke winning 41 - 15.
There has been change at Grosvenor with Head Coach Alasdair McKee departing. This season has been difficult for the Belmont side as they fight to retain their position in Q2. They came up short at Blaris against fellow strugglers Lisburn last weekend before losing losing 25 - 22.
Queen's 2nd XV v Instonians
Last season Queen's defeated Instonians 22 - 6 on their way to winning a dramatic McCrea Cup final against Cooke 26 -24. Can the students repeat their form this season. Queen's manager Chris Moore will look to see what team Instonians select after their matches against Enniscorthy and CIYMS with the Shaw's Bridge side having to play three matches in eight days. The students will be hoping that players including Saul Herdman, Duncan Maguire and Peter Storey will be available. He acknowledges it will be tough as they have lost eleven of last years team. Of the four remaining only Craig Devlin is fit. He sees this season as a transition year, but as holders of the Cup they will give their best with the game being played on the Arena pitch.
There was disappointment for William Leacock and his Instonians players after losing their AIL Junior Cup final to Enniscorthy last Saturday 23 - 7. After viewing the video footage, the coach was happy his players played some good rugby. They made four mistakes and conceded four tries. Enniscorthy were ruthless and punished the team's mistakes. They were hard to break down and defended superbly throughout the 80 mins. The coach brought in Mark Mairs and Mike Blackwood for the game at CIYMS on Wednesday with both Rory McCurry and Harry Cleland ruled out through injury. He was delaying selection for the Queen's match until Thursday night. The Instonians team were clear winners at CIYMS tonight scoring six tries in their 40 - 5 win to draw level on points with Bangor. Both sides have six league matches remaining.
FIXTURES
Academy v Belfast Harlequins 2nd XV
CIYMS v Malone 2 XV
Cooke v Grosvenor
Queen's 2nd XV v Instonians