Search Results for 'the All Ireland Junior Cup'

Monivea rugby has the opportunity to achieve something no other club in the province has done - win an All Ireland cup.

• The pick of the junior rugby games is in Monivea this weekend when Monivea RFC return to All Ireland action on Saturday. They take on Ballymoney RFC from Ulster in the All Ireland Junior Cup at 2.30pm.

•Connacht junior clubs are gearing up for the first round of the All Ireland Junior Cup which take place on October 30. 2008-2009 champions Tullamore enjoy home advantage over Sligo for their opening game, while Corrib and Ballina are also on the road to face Cooke and Dromore respectively. The only club at home is Monivea, semi finalists last season, and they will host Cashel. There are four clubs from each province with the teams from Connacht, Leinster and Ulster qualifying through their position in last season’s qualifying league, while the Munster clubs are drawn from the four semi-finalists in this season’s Junior Club Cup.

After last weekend’s adventures on the national stage it’s back to the basics of the Connacht Junior League for the Mayo sides in division 1A and 1B. Both Castlebar and Ballina bowed out of the All Ireland Junior Cup last weekend at the first round stage, with Westport the only Mayo side to progress to the next round of the competition. With four games to go for two of the Mayo sides in the league it’s do or die time as they try to finish in the top four of the exclusively junior sides to book their place in the All Ireland cup for next year.

With the league more or less wound down for the year, with Corinthians claiming the title and Ballina finishing as the top placed Mayo side in the league and booking their place in the All-Ireland Junior Cup for next season, attention now turns to the Connacht Junior Cup. The competition is now at the quarter-final stage with four Mayo sides still left in the competition, Ballina, Westport, Castlebar and Ballinrobe. With each side avoiding each other in the last eight the possibility of two all Mayo semi-finals exists, but it will be a difficult task.

With the summer over it’s time to get back to the cut and thrust of the action on the rugby paddocks across the province as the Connacht Junior League crashes back into action. With four Mayo based clubs and Corrib crossing into south Mayo, there will be plenty of interest around the county as the season progressed. While the defending champions Corinthians and Monivea will be the favourites to pick up the title at the end of the season, that won’t deter the Mayo sides launching a bid for the title, while getting a place inside the top four exclusive junior clubs will be the initial aim for most of the Mayo sides with that place in the All Ireland Junior Cup up for grabs.