Clontarf v Old Belvedere. Tonight, 7.30 pm. Castle Avenue
OLD BELVEDERE HEAD for the floodlit north Dublin ground tonight in the hope of recording their fourth straight win in division 1a.
The run of form, coming after three defeats too open the season, has pushed Belvo up to third place. A repeat of last week’s shock 44-13 demolition job on Cork Con would see them overtake Garryowen before the Munster club take the field tomorrow.
Hosts ‘Tarf have also split their six games evenly between the win and loss columns. They sit just a point behind tonight’s opposition and have beaten them convincingly both home and away early this year.
Cork Constitution v Shannon. Saturday, 2.30 pm. Temple Hill
Shannon head to Cork looking to end their winless run from six games this season. However, the hammering in Dublin will be foremost in the minds of the Cork Con squad before heading into battle with their cross-province rivals.
Like Young Munster and Belvo, Con have amassed 16 points this term and will be out to shut the gap between them and second-placed Garryowen.
Though the common consensus predicts a sizeable home win, Shannon won 14-10 on their last league trip to Temple Hill in 2011.
Garryowen v St Mary’s. Saturday, 2.30 pm. Dooradoyle
Mary’s head for Limerick in search of their third win of the season against a club they beat home and away (albeit by four and one point respectively) last term.
But Mary’s two wins have book-ended four straight defeats and Garryowen have been in impressive form winning five of their six fixtures to sit them two points behind Lansdowne at the summit.
UL Bohemians v Dolphin. Saturday, 2.30 pm. Annacotty
Five points separate Dolphin in seventh and second bottom Bohs going into tomorrow afternoon’s clash.
The home side will be hoping to recover from the heartbreaking and narrow Munster Senior Cup final defeat to Cork Con last Friday, while Dolphin were also left to lament a late score in their last league outing; a 20-18 defeat to Clontarf.
Young Munster v Lansdowne Saturday, 2.30 pm. Tom Clifford Park
Mike Ruddock’s league leaders make up the third fixture in the Limerick area tomorrow and their hosts will be keen on halving the eight-point gap that separates the clubs.
Though Lansdowne are flying at present and racked up 44 points against the Cookies in May, they lost this fixture 15-13 in November last season by a late penalty.
Young Munster will hope to keep the game tight, preventing the Dublin 4 side from imposing their expansive style which has proved profitable for winger Cian Aherne so far this season.
