AIB All Ireland League Previews

Dolphin and Shannon look ahead to their AIB All Ireland League clashes this weekend

Old Belvedere v Dolphin

Sat 22nd October 2005- Anglesea Road

Referee Richard Kerr (Ulster)

Previous Results

1993/94 L 14-15 (H) A O Shea try, A Byrne 2 pen&

1994/95 W 10-07 (A) B O Neill & C MacCoitir tries

1997/98 W 23-15 (A) C MacCoitir try Conor Mahony try, pen & con, J O Mahony try dg

1998/99 W 08-05 (H) J Forde try, J O Mahony pen

1999/00 L 13-18 (H) D Keeshan dg D Pomeroy try, J O Mahony p & c

2000/01 L 26-32 (A) Pen Try,A Hickey try J O Mahony 4 pens & 2c

2001/02 L 25-43 (H) M Manning & L Twomey tries J O Mahony 5 pens

2002/03 L 13-15 (A) S Madigan try J O Mahony 2 pens & 1c

2004/05 W 27-22 (A) D O Mahony, D Pomeroy tries, J O Mahony 5p& c 

Old Belvedere

(2004/05) Most points 61 Eamonn Fitzgerald

Most tries 4 Peter McKenna Nick Tuohy

Have earned 48 bonus points since they were introduced six seasons ago- more than any other side in the AIB League.

Finished with two wins and two losses in the Leinster League Cup so will not be playing in the AIB Cup.

Celebrating 75th anniversary this season.

Player Coaches are not unusual, however, having two is. Warren O Kelly & Richie Murphy both lined out last week in the defeat by Barnhall.

Richie Murphy is the 3rd highest points scorer of all time (still over 200 points behind John O Mahony) is playing with his 4th side in the AIB League- the others being Greystones, Clontarf and Co.Carlow.

Entertain Dolphin at home for the 3rd consecutive fixture between the sides.

Dolphin

Lost only one away game last season, that was in Dublin v DLSP.

Have a better Away record than a Home record with Old Belvedere Won at Anglesea Road three times and just once at home.

A total of eight players made league debut for Dolphin v Young Munster last week.

Have scored at least one try in each of the nine fixtures between the sides.

It was in this fixture five years ago that Dolphin were last awarded a penalty try.

Jack Purcell (22/01/2000) and John O Sullivan (16/12/2000) are the only members of the squad to have made their league debut v Old Belvedere.

Shannon Seek Second Win against Galwegians

The news from the Shannon camp in the lead up to this Saturday s second round of the AIB league is dominated by that of injuries. Their highly impressive win against St Mary s on the opening day of the league came at a heavy price with up wards of six players receiving treatment. However, for Captain Colm Mc Mahon no amount of treatment will help him, as his 10th minute injury last Saturday will see him confined to the sidelines for 6-8 weeks. A broken bone in his foot ensured his first AIB League game as captain came to a premature end. His back row partner, John O Connor was also withdrawn in the second half and his back injury may well see him join his captain for this game. At the time of writing his chances are said to be 50/50. Mc Mahon s understudy in the leadership stakes, centre Eoin Cahill s also limped off last weekend, however he is expected to train on Thursday evening.

Shannon are hopeful to have the same contingent of players who were involved last weekend, but with Munster playing Sale on Friday evening they will have to await naming a team until Saturday morning. Stephen Keogh, Ian Dowling, Jerry Flannery and Tony Buckley will all travel to Manchester with the Munster Squad.

Eddie Halvey resumed training this week after a back injury left him on the sidelines last weekend and his availability will somewhat soften the blow of Colm Mc Mahon s loss. Elsewhere, in the backs there s little to suggest change, apart from the doubt over Cahill and whether Ian Dowling is available. Mossy Lawlor has slotted into the fullback roll effortlessly and his depth and lines of running add a new dimension to Shannon s back play. Brian Tuohy, scorer of two tries against St Mary s, is almost certain to start and his quickness of the mark will cause any defence problems.

David Delaney will come back into contention after an injury which has seen him out of action since the start of the season, however it s unlikely he will be considered for the Outhalf berth given his lack of action and the fact that AIL veteran Andrew Thompson has been playing so well in that position. Indeed Thompson s 17 points has increased his all time league points to an impressive 931.

Shannon and Galwegians have played each other six times in the AIL, with Shannon ahead by four wins to Galwegians two. It is interesting to note however that Galwegians record is quite good in Thomond Park having won twice in four outings. There last win came in 2002 on a score of 14-18.

Shannon s win in Templeville road last Saturday was their 125th all time win in the league and their 5 try haul added to their 420 coming into this season s campaign.

Shannon will take nothing for granted this weekend and the management and team are acutely aware that the incentive for every side they play to beat the current league champions is huge, and Galwegians will be anxious to be the first team to do so.

Andrew Mc Namara

Shannon RFC PRO