After all the thrills and spills of the opening weekend, Championship 1 and 2 return with a full programme of fixtures for week 2.
There is sure to be a big crowd at Upritchard Park where Bangor host Dromore. Not only is it a first home game of the season for Bangor, but Saturday also marks the first occasion for the North Down club to show off their recently refurbished clubhouse.
No doubt they will be hoping to christen their redeveloped home with a win.
There’s an intriguing clash in the North-West where last year’s two promoted teams go head-to-head at the John Hunter Memorial Grounds.
Limavady and Ards kicked-off life in Championship on a winning note with wins over Cooke and Bangor respectively. Their two clashes in Championship 2 last term went right to the wire, and Saturday’s clash promises to be no different.
Lurgan and Belfast Harlequins square up to each other at Pollock Park. Both suffered opening day defeats, making this clash even more crucial.
Omagh were forced to go to the well to claim an opening day win in Ballymoney, and this week they welcome Cooke to the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields.
At Chambers Park, Portadown will be hoping to build on their opening day win over Belfast Harlequins. But Ballymoney will relish their trip to Mid-Ulster and will be confident of causing an upset.
The stand-out fixture in Championship 2 this weekend is the meeting of Letterkenny and City of Derry.
There were mixed fortunes for the two teams last week with City of Derry gaining a bonus-point win over Lisburn, while Letterkenny fell to a heavy defeat to Carrick.
A huge crowd is expected at Dave Gallaher Park for this eagerly anticipated derby, and it’s one that could down to the wire.
There’s another derby encounter at Roughfort where Academy host Carrickfergus. Academy fell to defeat on the road to Strabane last week, but they be hoping for better this time out against a Carrickfergus side high on confidence after a big win over Letterkenny last time out.
CIYMS and Coleraine both registered opening day wins last week, so something has got to give when the sides face-off at Belmont.
Both Lisburn and Larne will be hoping to get their respective season’s up and running when the clash at Eglantine Road. Defeats to City of Derry and Coleraine last week means that this is one neither side will want to lose.
Strabane returned to life in Championship 2 with a great home win over Academy, and they’ll no doubt be looking forward to their trip to Randalstown who fell to a narrow defeat to CIYMS last week.
This Weekend’s Fixtures.
Championship 1
Bangor v Dromore
Limavady v Ards
Lurgan v Belfast Harlequins
Omagh v Cooke
Portadown v Ballymoney
Championship 2
Academy v Carrickfergus
CIYMS v Coleraine
Letterkenny v City of Derry
Lisburn v Larne
Randalstown v Strabane