The race for top four will be a big one in 1A this weekend, as plenty of change could be on the cards to the standings come Saturday evening, elsewhere Trinity will hope to end this losing streak at home to Shannon in a meeting towards the foot of the table.
City of Armagh v Terenure College, Saturday 20th January, Palace Grounds, 2:30pm
Terenure can extend their winning run to five games, as they travel to the Palace Grounds to face a determined City of Armagh side.
Chris Parker’s contingent will be aiming to end their losing run and get a result to put them out of the relegation zone. After two tough defeats to Ulster neighbours Ballynahinch, the losing run is extended to six games and with a four point gap to make up, they need to end that sooner rather than later. Certainly the step up to the top table has been an arduous journey for City of Armagh, they are battle tested and will not give Nure an easy run of things this weekend.
Terenure will want to win this as they have a tough task keeping Hinch at bay to snatch their fourth place spot, it could be a better weekend however if results elsewhere favour them, they could easily finish second on Saturday afternoon, Con and Lansdowne both with testing fixtures this weekend sitting just ahead. When the pair locked horns in Lakelands Nure came out 29-17 winners, with their hot streak their confidence is up going into this tie.
Clontarf v Lansdowne, Saturday 20th January, Castle Avenue, 2:30pm
Clontarf’s unbeaten run will be tested for the eleventh week in succession as Lansdowne travel to Castle Avenue for a spicy looking Dublin Derby.
Tarf really have set the pace in 1A this term on course to make another decision having put in a less than ideal performance in the final last season. With how well Dylan Donnellan has looked in their front row, he is a catalyst that has brought score after score this season. The Bulls look incredibly strong and when they have had some incredibly tight games, they have not wilted under pressure, a side worthy of a title, will they keep this unblemished record intact on course to reclaim their crown.
For the first time since the 2017-2018 season, Lansdowne want to bring that title home, they have done a remarkable job this campaign, to get a scalp over the leaders would go a long way to doing that. With three wins from five, they have looked strong in recent weeks, losing to UCD put them in a tough spot on a cold streak going into their opening game of 2024, under lights last Friday they shone bright and now want to tackle the leaders having lost 31-27 back in December. Despite the cold elements, this game will be a heated one between these two heavyweights, Lansdowne do not want to lose ground.
Dublin University v Shannon, Saturday 20th January, College Park, 2:30pm
Two sides locked in the bottom half of the table, points are a must in this eight pointer at College Park, Shannon looking to jump further away from the drop zone.
Trinity are facing the risk of 11 straight defeats in the competition this weekend. Certainly a tough campaign for the Dublin contingent, as the weeks tick by the results must improve as they have a 13 point gap to make up to catch Shannon who sit in the last safety spot. That cap can be cut with a win, should Trinity play as well as they did late on against Terenure, they could snatch a win here, their discipline will be a question, Mike Cooke is accurate from the tee and will punish them with the concession of penalties.
Shannon narrowly got past Trinity in early December 14-13 at the back pitch in Thomond Park, their only win in their last five games and with a two game losing streak coming into this game, they too are far from an inform side. Still for large parts Shannon tested Clontarf in their last two games, however they have had some tough one sided results this year, a win here can go a long way to securing safety in the coming weeks.
UCD v Cork Constitution, Saturday 20th January, Belfield, 2:30pm
Cork Con face a trip to the capital this weekend in the hopes of keeping themselves locked in the race for the title, UCD will certainly be a tough customer to defeat.
The Students will make Belfield a tough venue to visit on Saturday afternoon, they narrowly lost to Lansdowne last time out and want to make up for that as they run the risk of falling into the relegation trap if they fail to take points. UCD have had some varied results in their last number of outings, defeating Lansdowne and City of Armagh their only wins in their last five games. Michael Moloney has been a star for them this campaign, he well could be the catalyst that gets them over the line this weekend.
Con returned to winning ways last weekend and with a narrow gap between them and Clontarf, they want to keep pressure applied to take top spot before the season ends to take the number one seed. With how the have played in recent weeks they will have plenty of hunger to take a result here, 38-25 winners when the two met in Temple Hill, the visitors will be confident but far from complacent expecting to see another win before a ball is kicked.
Young Munster v Ballynahinch, Saturday 20th January, Tom Clifford Park, 2:30pm
Hinch may well finish the weekend in the top four should they get a win on Shannonside and results elsewhere favour them, Young Munster will not be an easy test.
The Cookies still hurting from the Bateman Cup Final defeat to Nure, lost last time out and now in front of their home faithful at Tom Clifford Park, can they turn that around and take the desired outcome and cut the gap between these two to five or four points depending on bonus points. A side in great form prior to Christmas, can they show what they are made of once again and build on from that in the coming weeks.
Hinch are a tough task and would be on a six game winning streak had Young Munster not beaten them 16-13 in Ballymacarn Park in early December, the Cookies the only blemish alongside four wins and a draw in that run. Certainly sore from two bruising battles with City of Armagh, they will face another solid test in Munsters, Hinch will have confidence of taking a result here but it remains tough to call who will have the edge in this one.
More Info on Division 1A here.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.