The opening round of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup takes place this weekend along with a number of ties in the SONI Ulster Rugby Premiership and Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship.
Eight ties are down for decision in the opening round of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup with eight teams receiving a Bye. Four Ulster teams, Instonians, Clogher Valley, Ballyclare and Portadown automatically receive a bye after qualifying for the Ulster Bank All Ireland Junior Cup. Holders Bangor have returned to AIL rugby leaving last years finalists Instonians as firm favourites. The two stand out ties this weekend are the fixtures involving Carrickfergus and Ballynahinch seconds and the Tyrone/Fermanagh derby between Omagh and Enniskillen.
SONI ULSTER PREMIERSHIP DIV 1
Ballynahinch v Ballymena
Ballymena Head coach Andy Graham will select his starting line up from 1 - 20 Adrian Kirkpatrick, James Taggart/Andrew Ferguson, Chris Cundell, David Whann, Joe Thompson, Stepehen Mulholland, Tony McGuinness, James Gallagher, John Creighton, Glen Baillie, Nicky Stirling, Marty Irwin, Paddy James, Jonny Rossborough, Jordan Foster, Josh Bill, Willy McKay, Cory Millar and Rodger McBurney. Injury rules out Matthew Norris, Josh McIIroy, Alan Smyth, James Beattie, Chris Smyth, Aidy Hamilton, Matthew Harkness, Richie McMaster. Chris Allen, Mark Foster, Callum Patterson and Paddy McGowan are unavailable.
The coach is hoping his team can bounce back from their First Trust Cup defeat at home to Armagh last Sat. He was full of praise for the work Alex McCloy and Brian McLaughlin are doing at Armagh. He felt his team didn't front up to the physicality of the opposition by letting them get over the gain line. His backline didn't offer enough in attack and he put that down to the Armagh team stopping the Braid men from playing their fluent attacking game.
Banbridge v City of Derry
Head coach Daniel Soper has been delighted with the form shown by his players in the run up to the start of the AIL. Selecting a team at the moment for the coaches is proving quite difficult in several positions with a number of players playing very well. The coach has used the pre-season to give as many players an opportunity to stake a starting place in the 1st xv squad.
For the game against City of Derry, Bann welcome back prop Stuart Cromie. Adam Doherty returns at full back after being on rugby league duty for Ireland in Italy with John Porter restored on the wing. Competition is at it's tightest in the back three as every player who had an opportunity has played well. Another example was last weekend in the 26 - 7 win over Dundalk when wingers Ben Cross and Simon Lloyd got their first starts and both played well.
Robin Thompson gets an opportunity at out half this weekend. 15 of the 20 involved this weekend were involved in the teams final match last season.
New City of Derry coaching team of Richard McCarter and Stephen Douglas have endured a difficult start to the season as they assemble a depleted squad that narrowly missed out on promotion last season.
Dungannon v Armagh
This is the first of three meetings between these two teams over the next six weeks in the SONI Ulster Premiership league, Ulster Bank All Ireland League and the First Trust Senior Cup.
Armagh under the guidance of Alex McCloy, Brian McLaughlin and Willy Faloon are the team being talked about in Ulster club rugby. Their reputation was further enhanced by the 13 - 7 win at Ballymena last Saturday in the First Trust Senior Cup. The addition of players including Ryan Purvis, Chris Colvin, Ali Birch (Capt), Ollie Millar and Philip Fletcher has added strength to their playing squad.
For Dungannon Head coach Andy Hughes this weekend is all about giving his players more valuable game time. The club have ambitions to finish in the top four of AIL Div 2B this season. He recognises his opponents are very much the favourites to win the automatic promotion place from this league. Further additions have been made to the Dungannon squad with the signing of former RSD number 8 Peter Doran who played for the Ulster under 19's last season and Ulster under 19 squad member Josh Kennedy who has joined from Portora. Former Ulster hooker Nigel Brady has been helping out with coaching the front row forwards at the club. Players unavailable for this weekend include Seamus Mallon, Jake Finlay, Darren Simpson, Jonny Toal along with the injured Jack Reavey, Gerard Treanor and James Bates.
SONI ULSTER PREMIERSHIP DIV 2
Bangor v Malone
There is a real buzz at Upritchard Park with the club officials and players looking forward to the visit of Malone for this Premiership game this weekend. The 1st xv squad has been strengthened in all positions with the players putting in a lot of hard work in the off season. On Tuesday night there were 39 players from the 1st and 2nd xv at training such is the competition for places with 24 3rd xv players training with coaches Jason Rainey and Richard Lacey. Such are the numbers that the club is looking at fielding a 4th xv this season. The club is looking volunteers to take charge of this team.
Selection on Tuesday night was difficult with several difficult calls having to be made. Injury rules out Andrew Shaw, Adam McCusker, Chris Morgan, Dave Charles, Freddie Black and Ryan Latimer. The club are looking forward to the return of James Henley from Australia in November.
Both Lewis Sampson and James Boyle are away with the Ulster under 19's this weekend with Gareth Wright on holiday.
For the match against Malone, Philip Whyte captains the side from loose head with former Ballynahinch player Conor Pyper starting at hooker with James Leary at tight head. Craig Burton is joined in the second row by Curtis Stewart with Mike Apsley, Mike Weir and David Bradford at 8 in the back row. Former Donaghadee and Ulster Junior scrum half Alastair Lockhart starts his first game for Bangor where he will partner Gareth Millar. Head coach Jason Morgan starts in the centre alongside Desi Fusco with Mark Widdowson and Phil Broderick on the wings and Ross McCloskey at full back. Bench cover will be provided by Conor and Orran McIlmurray along with last year's captain Jamie Clegg, David Moody and former Methody player Lewis Loane.
Other players to lose out from a starting place this Sat are Andrew Jackson, Rob Gamble, Neil Cuthbertson, James McMullan, Glen Burton and Dave Caughey who start for the seconds against Ballynahinch thirds along with new signings Taylor Ferguson and Charlie Clegg.
1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong has witnessed at first hand the progress made by the seaside club in recent seasons. The players have trained hard all summer and now want to pit themselves against the top club sides in Ulster. They are hoping for a good start to their AIL campaigh when they host fellow Ulster side Rainey OB next Sat. The Gibson Park visitors will face a team determined to get their season off to a winning start.
Malone put in an impressive 29 - 5 win in their opening premiership game against Belfast Harlequins two weeks ago. Head coach Paddy Armstrong has selected a strong squad as he looks for a confidence building win before his team make the long trip to County Tipperary to play Cashel in their opening AIL match next Sat. He has been pleased with the work put in by the players with their attitude the most pleasing aspect.
The squad for this weekend is 1 - 20. Dane Fitzpatrick, Dan Kerr, Philip Eadie, James McAllister, Michael Shiels, Ben McDonnell, Neil Alcorn (Captain), Phil Lucas, Jack McMurtry, Nathan Brown, Michael Cartmill, Josh Pentland, Mark McCrea, Michael Barker, Mark O'Connor, Dave Cave, Richard Greenwood, Josh Ferguson, A N Other, Rory Campbell.
Belfast Harlequins v Queens Uni
After their opening day defeat to Malone coaches Andrew Gillespie and Keith Pyper made changes for the visit of City of Derry in the First Trust Senior Cup. A hard weeks work on the training paddock paid dividends with the Deramore side winning 35 - 10. For this weekend the coaches have made a few more personnel changes to try out different combinations before the start of the AIL. Matt McKelvey returns from playing for the Ireland rugby league team with Ollie Loughead pushing for a starting place after being out through injury.
Assistant coach Keith Pyper was pleased with the win against City of Derry. He agrees the team have several areas they have to improve on so the players won't get ahead of themselves. The players are working hard and will look for another confidence boosting performance against the students this weekend. They are expecting a tough test against their near neighbours Queens Uni.
Queens Head coach Bob Young has had to face up to the unavailability of so many players due to Ulster age grade commitments. He is expecting his side to be competitive when he has a full squad at his disposal.
MILLAR McCALL WYLIE JUNIOR CUP
Ards v Coleraine
Head coach Dave Irwin has the job of lifting his Ards team as they were ruthlessly swept aside 59 - 0 by a dominant Instonians team last Sat at Hamilton Park. After conceding nine tries they face a Coleraine side who scored 15 tries in their 93 - 7 win at UUC last Sat. On paper looking at the Coleraine squad assembled by Coleraine Head coach Richard Boyd they would not be out of place competing in the All Ireland league. Can the Ards players redeem themselves this weekend and get their season up and running. The talent is in the playing squad. They just need to have more belief in themselves on the pitch.
Banbridge seconds v Academy
Bann seconds suffered a 65 - 10 defeat at Coleraine two weeks ago before narrowly losing out to Limavady at Rifle Park 27 - 21 last weekend. With Bann coaches Daniel Soper and Simon Best creating strength in depth at the club this could be a tricky fixture for the North Belfast club.
Academy Head coach Gareth Lynn was disappointed with the performance of his team in the opening 20 minutes against CIYMS at Roughfort last Sat in losing 42 - 18. He thought his team played really well. A few early mistakes gifted CI two tries with a border line pass yielding another try. The team lost Stephen Fawcett early in the game with a fractured jaw. He has since had an operation to have a plate inserted. We wish him a speedy recovery. The coach is expecting quite a few changes for Sat due to holidays, injuries and unavailability.
Carrickfergus v Ballynahinch seconds
Both these sides met at Ballymacarn Park two weeks ago in the Conference league when Ballynahinch seconds overcame a 12 - 3 HT deficit to win 23 - 15. We can expect another closely contested game between these two sides at the Tom Simms Memeorial Park this weekend. Ballynahinch seconds have a great Cup tradition and will be difficult opponents for newly promoted Carrickfergus. Carrick recorded a 17 -15 win over Clogher Valley last Sat whilst Hinch seconds maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 12 - 8 win at Cooke.
Dromore v Belfast Harlequins seconds
Quins seconds conceded their Conference league match at Lisburn last Sat by forfeiting the points as they were unable to field a team.
Dromore Head coach Jonny Cullen was disappointed by the performance of his team in their opening day league 25 - 7 defeat at Portadown. The team bounched back with a 39 - 19 Conference league home win over Ballymena seconds last weekend. The coach is happy after the performance against Ballymena that has his team back on track as they look to a good Cup run. With several players away on a stag weekend there are opportunities for Carl Stirling, David Pyper and Blair McDonald who are drafted into the backline.
Larne v Malone seconds
New Head coach Lawrence Kelly has returned to take charge of Larne 1st xv this season. He has been joined by Stevie McReynolds, James McCluggage and Daniel Allen. Having worked alongside Willy Anderson at Sullivan Upper School for 10 years Lawrence has developed a reputation for his ability to work on players technical skills. In his previous stint at Larne he guided the 1st xv to promotion. The team have made an encouraging start to their season with wins over Armagh seconds and an impressive opening 28 - 6 league at Grosvenor last Sat. There is talent in abundance with several of their younger players being chased by neigbouring clubs. In half backs Ryan Garrett and Philip Andrews they have two of the most exciting players in the league. Joined by his brother Stuart in the backline the Andrews brothers have contributed 15 pts in the 25 - 15 win over Armagh and 23 pts in the win at Grosvenor. With the squad Lawrence has assembled at the Glynn don't be surprised if this Larne squad are not in contention for a top four placing at the end of the season. When a club like Larne have 33 players at training that is a positive sign of the players and the club moving together in the right direction.
Lisburn v CIYMS
When they these two sides met at Blaris in the league two weeks ago it was a rampant CIYMS side who ran out 74 - 0 winners. The East Belfast side built on that opening day success with another 42 - 18 win at Academy last Sat.
Lisburn were unable to get back to winning ways as Belfast Harlequins seconds conceded their Conference league game at Blaris last weekend. Lisburn Head coach Neil Hinds has much work to do to make sure his Lisburn side don't get caught up in another relegation battle this season.
Omagh v Enniskillen
When the draw was made for the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup there was much delight in the west of the province when these two sides were drawn together. The much anticipated contest this weekend in Omagh will see an Enniskillen side travel minus eight players who played against Portadown last weekend due to another Stag weekend which will weaken the challenge of the Fermanagh side who have opened their season back in Div 1 with two wins over Clogher Valley and Portadown. Head coach Willy Gibson will have to look to his extended squad to compete against an Omagh side that have picked up several injuries after league games against Cooke and Ballyclare. Never the less the supporters of both clubs will turn out in large numbers to get behind their teams. In the South West of the province the three Junior teams Enniskillen, Omagh and Clogher Valley have great Cup traditions and will not want to miss out on the opportunity to grace another final at the Kingspan stadium. Both teams having lost in recent seasons in the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup and the Powerade Towns Cup Finals.
Omagh Head coach Philip Marshall has several injuries to confront in selecting his starting xv. He has lost influential tighthead prop Mark Smyth to a serious knee injury that is looking long term. (A serious blow to the team). His direct replacement John Blair is also out for another 2/3 weeks with a a knee injury. Davy Thompson will step in to fill this position. Hooker Adam Pollock remains unavailable due to a shoulder injury and is replaced by young Mark Brown.
The coach has lost both centres Alan Heaney and Adam Stephenson from the game with Ballyclare. Scott Elliott moves to out half with Neil MacLaine and Matty Eccles forming a new centre partnership. The one good piece of news for the coach is the return of fullback Ali Beckett. Gary Sherrard is joined on the bench by Scott Barr. Despite the injuries and unavailabilities on both sides the coach is expecting a tough encounter with no quarter given by either team. Philip Marshall is looking a response from his players after their league defeat at Ballyclare and there is no better way than a local derby cup game.
Randalstown v Donaghadee
Both these teams met at Nelisbrook Park two weeks ago in their opening league game when Randalstown ran out 36 - 0 winners. Both these teams suffered heavy defeats in their Conference league games against Armagh and Malone seconds last week.
Randalstown Head coach Gary Longwell is expecting another tight encounter with Donaghadee this weekend. When the teams met a couple of weeks ago it took a couple of late Randalstown scores to give a false impression of the contest. He has considerable respect for their experienced coach Mark Henderson and the impact he has on the team is clear.
Bye: Instonians, Clogher Valley, Ballyclare, Portadown, Cooke, Limavady, Ballymena seconds and Armagh seconds.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIOSHIP DIV 3
BHSFP V Ballymoney
Letterkenny v Lurgan
Ophir v Holywood
PSNI V Newry
Strabane v Monaghan
Virginia v Cavan
Eight ties are down for decision in the opening round of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup with eight teams receiving a Bye. Four Ulster teams, Instonians, Clogher Valley, Ballyclare and Portadown automatically receive a bye after qualifying for the Ulster Bank All Ireland Junior Cup. Holders Bangor have returned to AIL rugby leaving last years finalists Instonians as firm favourites. The two stand out ties this weekend are the fixtures involving Carrickfergus and Ballynahinch seconds and the Tyrone/Fermanagh derby between Omagh and Enniskillen.
SONI ULSTER PREMIERSHIP DIV 1
Ballynahinch v Ballymena
Ballymena Head coach Andy Graham will select his starting line up from 1 - 20 Adrian Kirkpatrick, James Taggart/Andrew Ferguson, Chris Cundell, David Whann, Joe Thompson, Stepehen Mulholland, Tony McGuinness, James Gallagher, John Creighton, Glen Baillie, Nicky Stirling, Marty Irwin, Paddy James, Jonny Rossborough, Jordan Foster, Josh Bill, Willy McKay, Cory Millar and Rodger McBurney. Injury rules out Matthew Norris, Josh McIIroy, Alan Smyth, James Beattie, Chris Smyth, Aidy Hamilton, Matthew Harkness, Richie McMaster. Chris Allen, Mark Foster, Callum Patterson and Paddy McGowan are unavailable.
The coach is hoping his team can bounce back from their First Trust Cup defeat at home to Armagh last Sat. He was full of praise for the work Alex McCloy and Brian McLaughlin are doing at Armagh. He felt his team didn't front up to the physicality of the opposition by letting them get over the gain line. His backline didn't offer enough in attack and he put that down to the Armagh team stopping the Braid men from playing their fluent attacking game.
Banbridge v City of Derry
Head coach Daniel Soper has been delighted with the form shown by his players in the run up to the start of the AIL. Selecting a team at the moment for the coaches is proving quite difficult in several positions with a number of players playing very well. The coach has used the pre-season to give as many players an opportunity to stake a starting place in the 1st xv squad.
For the game against City of Derry, Bann welcome back prop Stuart Cromie. Adam Doherty returns at full back after being on rugby league duty for Ireland in Italy with John Porter restored on the wing. Competition is at it's tightest in the back three as every player who had an opportunity has played well. Another example was last weekend in the 26 - 7 win over Dundalk when wingers Ben Cross and Simon Lloyd got their first starts and both played well.
Robin Thompson gets an opportunity at out half this weekend. 15 of the 20 involved this weekend were involved in the teams final match last season.
New City of Derry coaching team of Richard McCarter and Stephen Douglas have endured a difficult start to the season as they assemble a depleted squad that narrowly missed out on promotion last season.
Dungannon v Armagh
This is the first of three meetings between these two teams over the next six weeks in the SONI Ulster Premiership league, Ulster Bank All Ireland League and the First Trust Senior Cup.
Armagh under the guidance of Alex McCloy, Brian McLaughlin and Willy Faloon are the team being talked about in Ulster club rugby. Their reputation was further enhanced by the 13 - 7 win at Ballymena last Saturday in the First Trust Senior Cup. The addition of players including Ryan Purvis, Chris Colvin, Ali Birch (Capt), Ollie Millar and Philip Fletcher has added strength to their playing squad.
For Dungannon Head coach Andy Hughes this weekend is all about giving his players more valuable game time. The club have ambitions to finish in the top four of AIL Div 2B this season. He recognises his opponents are very much the favourites to win the automatic promotion place from this league. Further additions have been made to the Dungannon squad with the signing of former RSD number 8 Peter Doran who played for the Ulster under 19's last season and Ulster under 19 squad member Josh Kennedy who has joined from Portora. Former Ulster hooker Nigel Brady has been helping out with coaching the front row forwards at the club. Players unavailable for this weekend include Seamus Mallon, Jake Finlay, Darren Simpson, Jonny Toal along with the injured Jack Reavey, Gerard Treanor and James Bates.
SONI ULSTER PREMIERSHIP DIV 2
Bangor v Malone
There is a real buzz at Upritchard Park with the club officials and players looking forward to the visit of Malone for this Premiership game this weekend. The 1st xv squad has been strengthened in all positions with the players putting in a lot of hard work in the off season. On Tuesday night there were 39 players from the 1st and 2nd xv at training such is the competition for places with 24 3rd xv players training with coaches Jason Rainey and Richard Lacey. Such are the numbers that the club is looking at fielding a 4th xv this season. The club is looking volunteers to take charge of this team.
Selection on Tuesday night was difficult with several difficult calls having to be made. Injury rules out Andrew Shaw, Adam McCusker, Chris Morgan, Dave Charles, Freddie Black and Ryan Latimer. The club are looking forward to the return of James Henley from Australia in November.
Both Lewis Sampson and James Boyle are away with the Ulster under 19's this weekend with Gareth Wright on holiday.
For the match against Malone, Philip Whyte captains the side from loose head with former Ballynahinch player Conor Pyper starting at hooker with James Leary at tight head. Craig Burton is joined in the second row by Curtis Stewart with Mike Apsley, Mike Weir and David Bradford at 8 in the back row. Former Donaghadee and Ulster Junior scrum half Alastair Lockhart starts his first game for Bangor where he will partner Gareth Millar. Head coach Jason Morgan starts in the centre alongside Desi Fusco with Mark Widdowson and Phil Broderick on the wings and Ross McCloskey at full back. Bench cover will be provided by Conor and Orran McIlmurray along with last year's captain Jamie Clegg, David Moody and former Methody player Lewis Loane.
Other players to lose out from a starting place this Sat are Andrew Jackson, Rob Gamble, Neil Cuthbertson, James McMullan, Glen Burton and Dave Caughey who start for the seconds against Ballynahinch thirds along with new signings Taylor Ferguson and Charlie Clegg.
1st xv Manager Ricky Armstrong has witnessed at first hand the progress made by the seaside club in recent seasons. The players have trained hard all summer and now want to pit themselves against the top club sides in Ulster. They are hoping for a good start to their AIL campaigh when they host fellow Ulster side Rainey OB next Sat. The Gibson Park visitors will face a team determined to get their season off to a winning start.
Malone put in an impressive 29 - 5 win in their opening premiership game against Belfast Harlequins two weeks ago. Head coach Paddy Armstrong has selected a strong squad as he looks for a confidence building win before his team make the long trip to County Tipperary to play Cashel in their opening AIL match next Sat. He has been pleased with the work put in by the players with their attitude the most pleasing aspect.
The squad for this weekend is 1 - 20. Dane Fitzpatrick, Dan Kerr, Philip Eadie, James McAllister, Michael Shiels, Ben McDonnell, Neil Alcorn (Captain), Phil Lucas, Jack McMurtry, Nathan Brown, Michael Cartmill, Josh Pentland, Mark McCrea, Michael Barker, Mark O'Connor, Dave Cave, Richard Greenwood, Josh Ferguson, A N Other, Rory Campbell.
Belfast Harlequins v Queens Uni
After their opening day defeat to Malone coaches Andrew Gillespie and Keith Pyper made changes for the visit of City of Derry in the First Trust Senior Cup. A hard weeks work on the training paddock paid dividends with the Deramore side winning 35 - 10. For this weekend the coaches have made a few more personnel changes to try out different combinations before the start of the AIL. Matt McKelvey returns from playing for the Ireland rugby league team with Ollie Loughead pushing for a starting place after being out through injury.
Assistant coach Keith Pyper was pleased with the win against City of Derry. He agrees the team have several areas they have to improve on so the players won't get ahead of themselves. The players are working hard and will look for another confidence boosting performance against the students this weekend. They are expecting a tough test against their near neighbours Queens Uni.
Queens Head coach Bob Young has had to face up to the unavailability of so many players due to Ulster age grade commitments. He is expecting his side to be competitive when he has a full squad at his disposal.
MILLAR McCALL WYLIE JUNIOR CUP
Ards v Coleraine
Head coach Dave Irwin has the job of lifting his Ards team as they were ruthlessly swept aside 59 - 0 by a dominant Instonians team last Sat at Hamilton Park. After conceding nine tries they face a Coleraine side who scored 15 tries in their 93 - 7 win at UUC last Sat. On paper looking at the Coleraine squad assembled by Coleraine Head coach Richard Boyd they would not be out of place competing in the All Ireland league. Can the Ards players redeem themselves this weekend and get their season up and running. The talent is in the playing squad. They just need to have more belief in themselves on the pitch.
Banbridge seconds v Academy
Bann seconds suffered a 65 - 10 defeat at Coleraine two weeks ago before narrowly losing out to Limavady at Rifle Park 27 - 21 last weekend. With Bann coaches Daniel Soper and Simon Best creating strength in depth at the club this could be a tricky fixture for the North Belfast club.
Academy Head coach Gareth Lynn was disappointed with the performance of his team in the opening 20 minutes against CIYMS at Roughfort last Sat in losing 42 - 18. He thought his team played really well. A few early mistakes gifted CI two tries with a border line pass yielding another try. The team lost Stephen Fawcett early in the game with a fractured jaw. He has since had an operation to have a plate inserted. We wish him a speedy recovery. The coach is expecting quite a few changes for Sat due to holidays, injuries and unavailability.
Carrickfergus v Ballynahinch seconds
Both these sides met at Ballymacarn Park two weeks ago in the Conference league when Ballynahinch seconds overcame a 12 - 3 HT deficit to win 23 - 15. We can expect another closely contested game between these two sides at the Tom Simms Memeorial Park this weekend. Ballynahinch seconds have a great Cup tradition and will be difficult opponents for newly promoted Carrickfergus. Carrick recorded a 17 -15 win over Clogher Valley last Sat whilst Hinch seconds maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 12 - 8 win at Cooke.
Dromore v Belfast Harlequins seconds
Quins seconds conceded their Conference league match at Lisburn last Sat by forfeiting the points as they were unable to field a team.
Dromore Head coach Jonny Cullen was disappointed by the performance of his team in their opening day league 25 - 7 defeat at Portadown. The team bounched back with a 39 - 19 Conference league home win over Ballymena seconds last weekend. The coach is happy after the performance against Ballymena that has his team back on track as they look to a good Cup run. With several players away on a stag weekend there are opportunities for Carl Stirling, David Pyper and Blair McDonald who are drafted into the backline.
Larne v Malone seconds
New Head coach Lawrence Kelly has returned to take charge of Larne 1st xv this season. He has been joined by Stevie McReynolds, James McCluggage and Daniel Allen. Having worked alongside Willy Anderson at Sullivan Upper School for 10 years Lawrence has developed a reputation for his ability to work on players technical skills. In his previous stint at Larne he guided the 1st xv to promotion. The team have made an encouraging start to their season with wins over Armagh seconds and an impressive opening 28 - 6 league at Grosvenor last Sat. There is talent in abundance with several of their younger players being chased by neigbouring clubs. In half backs Ryan Garrett and Philip Andrews they have two of the most exciting players in the league. Joined by his brother Stuart in the backline the Andrews brothers have contributed 15 pts in the 25 - 15 win over Armagh and 23 pts in the win at Grosvenor. With the squad Lawrence has assembled at the Glynn don't be surprised if this Larne squad are not in contention for a top four placing at the end of the season. When a club like Larne have 33 players at training that is a positive sign of the players and the club moving together in the right direction.
Lisburn v CIYMS
When they these two sides met at Blaris in the league two weeks ago it was a rampant CIYMS side who ran out 74 - 0 winners. The East Belfast side built on that opening day success with another 42 - 18 win at Academy last Sat.
Lisburn were unable to get back to winning ways as Belfast Harlequins seconds conceded their Conference league game at Blaris last weekend. Lisburn Head coach Neil Hinds has much work to do to make sure his Lisburn side don't get caught up in another relegation battle this season.
Omagh v Enniskillen
When the draw was made for the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup there was much delight in the west of the province when these two sides were drawn together. The much anticipated contest this weekend in Omagh will see an Enniskillen side travel minus eight players who played against Portadown last weekend due to another Stag weekend which will weaken the challenge of the Fermanagh side who have opened their season back in Div 1 with two wins over Clogher Valley and Portadown. Head coach Willy Gibson will have to look to his extended squad to compete against an Omagh side that have picked up several injuries after league games against Cooke and Ballyclare. Never the less the supporters of both clubs will turn out in large numbers to get behind their teams. In the South West of the province the three Junior teams Enniskillen, Omagh and Clogher Valley have great Cup traditions and will not want to miss out on the opportunity to grace another final at the Kingspan stadium. Both teams having lost in recent seasons in the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup and the Powerade Towns Cup Finals.
Omagh Head coach Philip Marshall has several injuries to confront in selecting his starting xv. He has lost influential tighthead prop Mark Smyth to a serious knee injury that is looking long term. (A serious blow to the team). His direct replacement John Blair is also out for another 2/3 weeks with a a knee injury. Davy Thompson will step in to fill this position. Hooker Adam Pollock remains unavailable due to a shoulder injury and is replaced by young Mark Brown.
The coach has lost both centres Alan Heaney and Adam Stephenson from the game with Ballyclare. Scott Elliott moves to out half with Neil MacLaine and Matty Eccles forming a new centre partnership. The one good piece of news for the coach is the return of fullback Ali Beckett. Gary Sherrard is joined on the bench by Scott Barr. Despite the injuries and unavailabilities on both sides the coach is expecting a tough encounter with no quarter given by either team. Philip Marshall is looking a response from his players after their league defeat at Ballyclare and there is no better way than a local derby cup game.
Randalstown v Donaghadee
Both these teams met at Nelisbrook Park two weeks ago in their opening league game when Randalstown ran out 36 - 0 winners. Both these teams suffered heavy defeats in their Conference league games against Armagh and Malone seconds last week.
Randalstown Head coach Gary Longwell is expecting another tight encounter with Donaghadee this weekend. When the teams met a couple of weeks ago it took a couple of late Randalstown scores to give a false impression of the contest. He has considerable respect for their experienced coach Mark Henderson and the impact he has on the team is clear.
Bye: Instonians, Clogher Valley, Ballyclare, Portadown, Cooke, Limavady, Ballymena seconds and Armagh seconds.
KUKRI ULSTER RUGBY CHAMPIOSHIP DIV 3
BHSFP V Ballymoney
Letterkenny v Lurgan
Ophir v Holywood
PSNI V Newry
Strabane v Monaghan
Virginia v Cavan