In round one of the Connacht Junior League 1A, Ballina got off to a winning start with a 22-21 win at home to Ballinasloe last Sunday. Ballina picked up the win thanks to a last minute converted try from Aidan McNulty with James Coppen kicking the extra points. This weekend Ballina will be on the road against Monivea who had an impressive 36-11 win over OLBC on the road last Sunday. The other Mayo side in the top division, Westport, went down to the Connemara All Blacks in Carrowholly on a score of 14-3, this weekend Westport will look to get things back up and running when they travel to face a Ballinasloe team who picked up a losing bonus point from their tight defeat to Ballina.
In division 1B, Castlebar are out in front early thanks to a 48-21 win over Tuam away from home. Nigel Byrne touched down four times for tries, while Gavin Sullivan, Ronan Conway, and David Staunton all crossed the whitewash. Castlebar will take on Corrib at home on Saturday night with an 8pm kick off in Cloondeash. Ballyhaunis picked up a win last week in another away trip for the Mayo side when they ran out 15-6 winners over Creggs and they will look to back that up on Sunday when they host a Tuam team who took a tanking from Castlebar last time out. The other Mayo team in the division, Ballinrobe, went down to a heavy defeat to Loughrea last weekend and will try to pick up their first points of the season when they host Creggs on Sunday.
