On Sunday afternoon the brave men of Ballina rugby will look to put the crowning jewel on the season by claiming a historic league and cup double when they face Sligo in the Sportsground in Galway.
Last Sunday the north Mayo men wrapped up their league title with a massive 38-5 win over Connemara to pick up the league title for a second year in a row.
Three early tries from Calum Quinn, Fergal Tully and Chris O'Neill laid the foundations for that win over their nearest challengers as they went in leading 21-5 at the break, with Kieran Lindsay finding the target from his boot after those tries. They kept their performance levels up in the second half with Andrew West, Aiden McNulty and Mickey Murphy all touching down in the second half to seal an impressive 33 point win and ensuring the league title will winter for another year near the Moy in Heffernan Park.
The north Mayo men have yet to taste defeat this year in provincial competition, having won their ten league games and all their cup encounters to reach Sunday's showpiece occasion. On the way to Sunday's final they have seen off Monivea 13-5 in the last 16, local rivals Castlebar 25-10 in the quarter-finals and then Connemara 20-6 in the semi-final.
In their league meetings this year, Ballina got the better of Sligo 27-19 on the road and 38-10 at home and they will be fully confident of being more than capable of putting in a similar winning performance on Sunday.
It has been a historic season for the north Mayo men on many levels on the field, putting together back to back league titles, having the Connacht Junior Cup within touching distance and going all the way to the semi-final stage of the All Ireland Junior Cup in December, where they were narrowly beaten 22-17 by Ashbourne.
The game kicks off at 3pm in the Sportsground in Galway on Sunday.
