Bruff captain Tom O'Dwyer drives forward during last week's Munster derby against Dolphin in Division 2C ©Bruff RFC
After an exciting opening round of action, the Energia All-Ireland League promises another thrilling weekend with plenty of standout clashes from the third tier down to Division 2C.
After gaining maximum points last Saturday, Instonians, Galway Corinthians, MU Barnhall, and Cashel will all aim to continue that momentum as they play their first Energia All-Ireland League matches on home soil.
An Ulster derby for early table toppers Instonians to mark their first home game in Division 2A since April 2012, as they welcome Ballymena to Shaw’s Bridge.
Eight tries against Buccaneers showed how lethal Inst remain, and hat-trick hero Bevan Prinsloo, Neil Saulters, and the boot of Ulster Development out-half Josh Eagleson can be key for them this weekend.
With John Nicholl back in the head coach hot seat, Ballymena fell to a 27-10 defeat at home to Corinthians and need to bounce back against one of the most in-form teams in the All-Ireland League.
Fresh from a bruising battle with Old Crescent, Cashel renew acquaintances with Banbridge, whom they overcame 12-7 in the final game of last season at Spafield. Buoyed by a strong showing in the first round, Cashel will be favoured here, as Bann fell short at home to Barnhall.
It was a positive start to their campaign for Michael Harding’s Corinthians, and now they take on Greystones at home. 19-year-old Connacht Academy ace Tomás Farthing stood out for Corinthians in the opening round with two tries.
Greystones only had three points to spare against Navan in the end, but Danny Kenny’s men got the job done with a number of new combinations in the starting XV, including half-backs Gavin Rochford, an Under-20 player last season, and Ben Stephens, formerly of Old Wesley.
Continuing their strong push in recent years, MU Barnhall are hoping to mount an early charge for the summit. They are celebrating 25 years of competing as an All-Ireland League club on Saturday, hosting Buccaneers at Parsonstown.
Dan Murphy moves into the second row, with Abdul Olasebikan returning at openside flanker for the Blue Bulls. Buccaneers are hoping that Gearoid McDonald and Corey Reid will be available, boosting their back-line options in the process.
The centenary celebrations of Navan RFC begin in earnest with their first home league fixture against Old Crescent. Both teams lost last Saturday, but picked up bonus points for their efforts. Crescent’s brace from their high-scoring tussle with Cashel has them sixth in the table.
Speaking about Navan’s ambitions for the 2024/25 campaign, prop Jordan Finney said: “I think like every team every season, your goal is to get promoted. Nothing has changed this season.
“Obviously, as an added incentive, that would be more special for the club if it was to happen in the centenary. Our goal every year is to get back (up a division).
“Obviously we were in Division 1B (in 2021/22) for a season, and we’re trying to get back there obviously (to) put a better spin on things in 1B then we did the last time.
“Our focus is always to try to get into those play-off spots, and then do the best we can when we get there.”
Old Crescent have been boosted by the agreement of a new two-year sponsorship deal with Gallagher. Their former captain Ronan McKenna now has 100 AIL caps to his name, and the experienced out-half will be hoping to reverse last October’s 26-19 defeat at Balreask Old.
One of the matches of the round will be Clogher Valley taking on Wanderers. The pair started strongly last weekend and brought plenty of attacking threat to gather scores.
Stephen Bothwell’s Clogher side put 525 points on the scoreboard when they won the Division 2C title, while Wanderers, who finished third in Division 2B last season, tallied up an impressive 617 points.
This has all the signs of a high-scoring classic at the Cran, and both teams will take to the pitch with plenty of confidence after last week’s exploits. Wanderers have Mick McGrath and James Moriarty packing a punch in midfield.
Sitting bottom of the table after the opening round, Malahide welcome Malone to Estuary Road. Coming off the back of a heavy loss to Dungannon, Ray Monaghan’s men will be doubly determined to get a result, especially in front of their home support.
Malone lost their grip on a late three-point lead against Clogher, and will use that disappointment to target an improved performance and result in Dublin. Jack McMurtry, their Player of the Year last season, got amongst the tries last Saturday.
Tim Barker’s tenure as Rainey head coach started with a 28-point defeat away to Wanderers. The Magherafelt outfit entertain Galwegians in the second round, seeking a full 80-minute performance after the Chaps pulled clear of them in the second half.
Scores were hard to come by for Rainey, who include Ulster Development forward Mark Lee, while the Brendan Guilfoyle-coached Galwegians were undone by a late try at home to Skerries, losing by the minimum margin.
‘Wegians, like two years ago, have started life in Division 2B with a loss. Their current crop of players include former Buccaneer Stephen Mannion who converted all five of their tries last Saturday.
It is fourth against third at Holmpatrick where Skerries and UL Bohemian, who both bagged five points in encouraging starts, aim to maintain their winning momentum. Former skipper Kevin McGrath was Skerries’ hero in Galway with that decisive late score.
UL Bohs’ own attack looks in very good form too, with a four-try salvo against Sligo seeing them start life in Division 2B in strong fashion. It was a day to remember for the forwards with Kean Sheehy, Darren Ferrar, and Sean Quirke all touching down.
Notably, for the third time in four seasons, Sligo and Dungannon will face off in round 2. Sligo also hosted Dungannon at Hamilton Park last October, prevailing 45-20 on that occasion.
Following their reversal down at UL, Paddy Pearson’s charges have to make home advantage count – as they did last season when winning seven of their nine league games in Strandhill. However, Dungannon have hit the ground running and are top of the table.
Buoyed by his side’s six-try showing against Malahide, which included braces from Sean O’Hagan and James McMahon, ‘Gannon boss Jonny Gillespie said: “The boys are excited to get back out this week and push the bar higher. Sligo will be a huge challenge.
“Last week there were a few things we got right, and a few things we got wrong. These have been corrected at training during the week.”
Ballyclare will play their first ever Energia All-Ireland League fixture on home turf when they take on Enniscorthy. Meanwhile, for Monkstown, their second round meeting with Bruff marks their first AIL home game since April 2003.
For the historic occasion on Saturday, Ballycare are anticipating a bumper crowd at the Cloughan, and are putting on a Colours Day where supporters are being urged to wear their old retro club jerseys or club colours.
Looking forward to the visit of ‘Scorthy, Ballyclare head coach Mike Orchin-McKeever said: “I’m expecting it to rival a couple of the home All-Ireland Junior Cup fixtures that we had, or the top-of-the-table clashes (in Ulster).
“There is hope that we are going to get a big following to come out on the sidelines. Enniscorthy have started with a loss and they will be hurting. They will travel with a chip on their shoulder.
“I think the good work of the last few years done by Instonians and Clogher Valley, going from 2C to 2B and how successful they have been, has put a target on the Ulster junior clubs that have been promoted to AIL level. However, we are grounded and focused on us.”
Enniscorthy, who lost 29-20 to Belfast Harlequins in their league opener, had some injury-enforced absentees, but Clontarf legend Tony Ryan is back at his home club as captain. ‘Scorthy conceded some costly penalties, and had four men sin-binned, including number 8 Ryan.
Monkstown turned in a very commendable performance on the road against Midleton, getting their first league point on the board. Sydney Parade will be a hive of activity for this long-awaited opening home match, as Bruff make the journey up the M7.
The Limerick men suffered a five-point defeat to Munster rivals Dolphin, and a rapid return to winning ways is their target. Having scored three tries last week, can Monkstown lift their game further to turn over last year’s third-placed team?
Meanwhile, Belfast Harlequins began life in Division 2C with a bonus point success against Enniscorthy. Flanker Eddie Gorrod stood out in a player-of-the-match performance, while backs Tane Hotham and Thomas Armstrong scored three second-half tries between them.
Harlequins are part of an Ulster 1-2 at the top of the standings, yet third-placed Midleton, their visitors this weekend, also registered a maximum haul. It looks hard to separate these two teams on current form, so expect a closely-fought battle.
Dolphin enjoyed a confidence-boosting 20-15 victory over Bruff, and return home to Virgin Media Park to face Omagh Academicals. The Cork club will be live streaming an AIL fixture for the first time on Saturday.
Dolphin were inspired by Kiwi full-back Jordan Soli’s 15-point haul in that provincial derby. The Accies had their own scoring star in out-half Scott Elliott, whose 26-point tally against Clonmel, including a crucial late penalty, makes him the division’s top scorer.
It was a case of so near and yet so far for Clonmel last week, with a 31-28 defeat sealed during the dying embers in Omagh. Their next assignment is a home date with bottom-placed Tullamore.
The visitors will have to keep their penalty count low, with Clonmel centre Joey O’Connor (13 points) in accurate form. Conor Dunne dotted down twice for David Hanlon’s charges against Ballyclare, and is difficult to stop when in scoring range.
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