Following a rest week, the Wolfhounds and Clovers squads are fully rehcarged and ready to go for Saturday's inaugural Celtic Challenge semi-finals which will take place at Dexcom Stadium, the home of Connacht Rugby.
Neill Alcorn's Wolfhounds ended the regular season with their ninth win in 10 matches, as a strong first-half performance steered them past the Clovers, on a 43-20 scoreline, and to a table-topping finish.
New Ireland captain Erin King touched down twice in that game at the UCD Bowl, and has reached the semi-final stage as the tournament's top try scorer with seven tries. Two behind her are Clovers duo Aoibheann McGrath and Anna McGann, as well as Wolfhounds hooker India Daley.
Coached by Denis Fogarty, the Clovers' only two defeats this season have come against their Irish rivals. In between, they put together a seven-match winning streak, doing the double over Gwalia whom they beat 35-31 on the opening day in Donnybrook, before winning 19-14 in Ystrad Mynach in February.
In their last home fixture against Edinburgh, Fogarty's charges, who are captained by Ruth Campbell, got a valuable run-out on the Dexcom Stadium pitch. They have been boosted by returning Ireland stars Béibhinn Parsons and Enya Breen in recent rounds.
Chasing their third successive title, the Wolfhounds are led from midfield by Aoife Dalton. They will be out to avenge their only loss of the league phase when they went down 14-0 to Brython Thunder in Llanelli last month. They had beaten them 69-0 at Affidea Stadium in January.
Fans can watch Saturday's semi-final action live on the TG4 Player, with coverage also available on BBC iPlayer and the official Celtic Challenge YouTube channel.
Edinburgh Rugby's Hive Stadium will stage the first ever Celtic Challenge final on Saturday week (March 28), with the decider kicking off at 3pm. Tickets are on sale now.
Purchase Tickets for Celtic Challenge Doubler Header
Tickets for the semi-finals double header in Galway are available to buy online here through Connacht Rugby. Clan Stand tickets (with unallocated seating) are priced at €12 for adults, and €6 for under 16s. In two mouth-watering Irish-Welsh clashes, the second-placed Clovers will play Gwalia Lightning at 12pm, followed by the meeting of the Wolfhounds, the defending champions and top seeds, and Brython Thunder at 3pm. This year marks the first time that the cross-border competition will have play-offs, and the two Irish teams have led the way in qualifying for the last-four as the top-ranked sides.
Neill Alcorn's Wolfhounds ended the regular season with their ninth win in 10 matches, as a strong first-half performance steered them past the Clovers, on a 43-20 scoreline, and to a table-topping finish.
New Ireland captain Erin King touched down twice in that game at the UCD Bowl, and has reached the semi-final stage as the tournament's top try scorer with seven tries. Two behind her are Clovers duo Aoibheann McGrath and Anna McGann, as well as Wolfhounds hooker India Daley.
Coached by Denis Fogarty, the Clovers' only two defeats this season have come against their Irish rivals. In between, they put together a seven-match winning streak, doing the double over Gwalia whom they beat 35-31 on the opening day in Donnybrook, before winning 19-14 in Ystrad Mynach in February.
In their last home fixture against Edinburgh, Fogarty's charges, who are captained by Ruth Campbell, got a valuable run-out on the Dexcom Stadium pitch. They have been boosted by returning Ireland stars Béibhinn Parsons and Enya Breen in recent rounds.
Chasing their third successive title, the Wolfhounds are led from midfield by Aoife Dalton. They will be out to avenge their only loss of the league phase when they went down 14-0 to Brython Thunder in Llanelli last month. They had beaten them 69-0 at Affidea Stadium in January.
Fans can watch Saturday's semi-final action live on the TG4 Player, with coverage also available on BBC iPlayer and the official Celtic Challenge YouTube channel.
Edinburgh Rugby's Hive Stadium will stage the first ever Celtic Challenge final on Saturday week (March 28), with the decider kicking off at 3pm. Tickets are on sale now.