Monivea v Westport
Junior 1A
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in Monivea
Last years Junior Cup winners came unstuck at the death last weekend when Ballina scored a famous victory over them in Carrowholly, thanks to a late converted try. This weekend they will make the trip east to take on a Moinvea side who will be playing at home for the second week in a row. Last weekend they were held to a 15-15 draw by Galwegians. Westport will be itching to get back to winning ways on Sunday, Kevin Corcoran and Kevin Hastings scored the tries last weekend for them with Seán Tobin kicking four penalties and two conversions from the boot and they will hope he will hit a similar vein of form this weekend.
Ballina v Buccaneers
Junior 1A
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in Ballina
After last weekend's dramatics where David Brunker touched down at the death and Michael Murphy added the extras to seal a famous win away to Westport, David Newman will welcome Buccaneers to north Mayo on Sunday. The Athlone based outfit also got off to a winning start when they had seven points to spare over Ballinasloe last time out in a 18-11 win, which was a good opening for the side promoted this year. They led 10-8 at the break and outscored their opponents 8-3 after the turnaround with Sam McCormack touching down for the vital try. This will be a big game for Ballina and if they can put together back to back wins, it will be a great start to the season.
OLBC v Castlebar
Junior 1B
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in OLBC
Getting off to a winning start was an imperative for Castlebar as they look to make their way back to the top level of junior rugby, and they managed that last Saturday night with a 20-17 win over Creggs in Cloondeash. This weekend they will be on the road to Galway to take on an OLBC side who were not in action last weekend and Castlebar will be hoping to catch them cold. Castlebar touched down three times last weekend in their win with Conor Tuohy, Ronan Byrne, and Matthew Staunton all scoring tries and they will be looking for a similar return this time.
Ballyhaunis v Sligo
Junior 1B
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis could not have asked for a worse start to the season, they were well and truly pummelled last weekend by NUIG with the students scoring a bonus point 41-13 win over the east Mayo men. That was the second week in a row that the students had beaten Ballyhaunis following a Curley Cup win the previous weekend. This time around, Ballyhaunis will welcome a Sligo side who have not got their league season up and running yet. After two heavy losses in as many weeks, the Doctors Road outfit badly need to pick up a win.
Ballinrobe v Corrib
Junior 1C
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in Ballinrobe
There is nothing like a derby game first up to get the blood flowing, and on Sunday Ballinrobe will welcome their near neighbours from the south on the borderline Corrib as their league season kicks off. The visitors got their season up and running last weekend and it could not have gone any better when they put 50 points on Buccaneers' third string at home. Ballinrobe will need to hit the ground running this year, they had some decent cup form, but their league play saw them slip into this tier and they will want to get back up as soon as possible.
Claremorris v Dunmore
Junior 1C
Sunday September 27
At 1.30pm in Claremorris
Claremorris took their first steps in the junior rugby pyramid last weekend when they took on Galwegians' third string in their first game in the Junior 1C and it could not have gone much better. The south Mayo side recorded a 23-18 win over Wegians where they crossed the try line three times with Shane Meehan, Luke Murphy, and Luke Ronayne all crossing for tries, with Jack Vahey adding some points on the board from the boot. On Sunday they will have their first home game at this grade and it will be a special day for all involved in the club. Dunmore have yet to get their league season running and Claremorris will be hoping to make it two from two in their debut season.
