Galwegians RFC, having secured the All Ireland League division 2A trophy, is now involved in two cup finals in the next two weeks.
First up is the Heineken Connacht Junior Cup when they face Westport on Sunday (3pm ) in the Galway Sportsground, while on April 5 the club’s u-17s will take on Skerries in Naas in the All Ireland final.
Sunday’s junior cup final is expected to be a fascinating duel between the mid-table division 1A Mayo side and the winners of the division 1B.
Galwegians boast a strong recent record in this competition, having contested the last two finals, winning in 2012, before losing out last year to Monivea.
In this season’s campaign they needed a late comeback to dispose of Corrib by 29-15 before a comfortable 23-0 win over Tuam. Their most significant win was against holders Monivea in the quarter-final when they avenged last year’s final defeat with a 28-3 victory, but they had to work hard to see off Ballinasloe when, with the game level, two late tries sealed victory.
Westport’s passage included two highly impressive wins over division 1a leading lights Corinthians and OLBC.
Neither side has played the other this season which ensures an interesting duel. Galwegians, with 12 players having come through the youth academy, also boast Jack Dineen from Limerick, who is a hooker with Connacht Eagles, and Ciaran Gaffney, last year’s Irish schoolboy international. Familiar names include Jordan Healy, the son of ex-Connacht player Joe, Eoin O’Mahony, son of former president Shane, and Gaffney who is the son of current president John. The side is captained by David Clarke, coached by Pat Lee and managed by Tony Fitzmaurice, while Spencer Perkins is involved in his fourth junior cup final for the club.
The u-17s provided another huge boost for the city club when they overcame Munster champions Waterpark by 20- 18 in Limerick to progress to the All Ireland final.
