#EnergiaAIL Men’s Provincial League Championship: Semi-Final Previews
Mikey Dunne is pictured scoring a try for Creggs against Dunmore during last weekend's Bank of Ireland Connacht Men's Junior Cup final at Ballina RFC ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Excitement is building ahead of Saturday’s double header of Energia All-Ireland League Men’s qualifying play-offs at Cill Dara RFC, as Bective Rangers and Creggs meet in the curtain raiser, before two unbeaten provincial winners, Thomond and Dromore, go head-to-head.
ALL-IRELAND PROVINCIAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS:
Saturday, April 5 –
BECTIVE RANGERS v CREGGS, Cill Dara RFC, 1pm
Can Bective Rangers, this season’s Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup champions and Leinster Junior League Division 1A winners, go all the way and stake their claim for a return to the Energia All-Ireland League?
Since the end of the 2017/18 campaign, Bective have strived to reclaim their senior status. Losing the promotion play-off final to Instonians in April 2022, they exited at the semi-final stage the following year, and are back this season with an even greater intent to go the distance.
Australian Ben Manion has done a great job as their new head coach, with the Donnybrook side winning the Leinster League crown by a single point ahead of Seapoint, after an intriguing title race went right down to the wire.
Along with that they had some high-scoring outings in the All-Ireland Junior Cup earlier this season, and are looking to utilise that winning momentum heading into Saturday’s semi-final against Creggs.
Bective captain Tiarnan McCloskey missed the Junior Cup final win over Enniskillen, but was involved in their 17-15 Spencer Cup final triumph over Suttonians.
Mikey O’Hare was their scorer-in-chief during that successful Junior Cup run, tallying up 43 points in three appearances. He had a a big impact against Ulster outfit Enniskillen, weighing in with a try, three conversions, and a penalty.
Creggs, on the other hand, are here for the third year in a row. Promotion play-off semi-final defeats to Richmond in 2023, and Ballyclare last season, have the Connacht Junior League Division 1A champions desperate to reverse those results.
Having ended a 32-year wait for the Connacht Junior Cup title last weekend, Creggs will make the trip to Kildare with plenty of confidence in how they are playing at present.
While the All-Ireland Junior Cup did not go their way earlier this season, a Connacht double for the first time since 1989 has given the club, which is located right alongside the county border between Galway and Roscommon. a big boost.
Kolo Kiripati’s men have plenty of quality at their disposal, with James Brandon crossing for two tries during their 36-21 Connacht Junior Cup final victory over Dunmore. Shane Purcell is also a talented operator from the kicking tee.
THOMOND v DROMORE, Cill Dara RFC, 3pm
Having won through to the promotion play-offs for the first time since 1998/99, Dromore are keen to make more history on top of their unbeaten Ulster Rugby Championship 1 campaign by gaining promotion to the Energia All-Ireland League.
Standing in their way are Thomond, who are bidding to avenge not only a 32-16 defeat to Dromore from the opening round of the All-Ireland Junior Cup, but also a 33-17 loss at this same stage last year to Monkstown.
Relegated back at the end of the 2018/19 season, the Soda Cake are back in the promotion chase for the second year running.
The back-to-back Munster Junior League Division 1 champions, and with an enviable unbeaten run coming into this weekend, Thomond are aming to take a significant step towards returning to the AIL.
Kevin O’Mahony’s charges were ultra consistent in emerging again as the team to beat in Munster, registering a maximum 13 bonus point wins. The Limerick men have had nine tries each from full-back Jamie McGarry and scrum half Evan Maher.
Dromore equally had a very impressive run in Ulster. While they did not quite record a try-scoring bonus point in every game, they still won all 18 of their league matches and have ended their long-awaited return to fight for promotion to the All-Ireland League.
Graeme Eastwood’s side have really been the gold standard in Ulster this season, and following their four-point loss to Bective last December in the All-Ireland Junior Cup, they are determined to avoid a second semi-final defeat in a national competition.
The County Down outfit got the better of Thomond earlier this season, beating them 32-16 at Liam Fitzgerald Park. Adam McDonald grabbed a brace of tries that day, while Richard Dickson and Dean Dillon also dotted down.
Thomond were here last year and failed to get over the line, whereas Dromore are new to this environment. With the neutral venue also a factor, this battle of the two unbeaten provincial league champions is certainly hard to call.
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