Much like their senior teams in the Heineken Cup, three of the four Irish provinces go into round 5 of the BANDI Cup with hopes of making the last 8, with Connacht facing a difficult trip to an English club. We’ve had a look at the state of the various pools.
POOL ONE – ULSTER RAVENS
Ulster’s task is simple…they must avoid defeat to Bristol tonight otherwise the pool is over. Win, and they’re in the driving seat for their trip to Bridgend next week, though they’ll do well to prevent Bristol getting a losing bonus point if they can.
Friday, 11 January 2013 Ulster v Bristol 19:30
Saturday, 12 January 2013 Cardiff v Bridgend 14:30
Saturday, 19 January 2013 Bridgend v Ulster 14:30
Sunday, 20 January 2013 Bristol v Cardiff 15:00
Ulster Ravens XV & replacements v Bristol, British & Irish Cup, Friday 11th January, Deramore Park, Belfast, 7.30pm:
(15-9) Blane McIlroy; Neil Walsh, Stuart McCloskey, Niall O’Connor, Rory Scholes; Stuart Olding, Michael Heaney;
(1-8): Richard Lutton, Niall Annett (capt), Adam Macklin, Alan O’Connor, James Simpson, Conor Joyce, Ali Birch, James McMahon;
(16-22): Nigel Brady, Andy Warwick, John Donnan, Neil Faloon, John Creighton, Stuart Morrow, Chris Colvin.
Standby: Ross Adair
POOL FOUR – CONNACHT EAGLES
It’s damage limitation for the Eagles tomorrow I’m afraid, given Newcastle’s 15-try 93-0 demolition of Newport in the last round. If I were them I’d be targeting a home win over Newport in the final round which should secure a respectable second-place finish.
Saturday, 12 January 2013 Newport v Cross Keys 14:30 Newcastle v Connacht 15:00
Saturday, 19 January 2013 Connacht v Newport 14:00 Cross Keys v Newcastle 14:00
Connacht Eagles v Newcastle
15 Steve Macauley 14 Mark McCrea 13 Tadhg Leader 12 Brian Murphy 11 Conor Finn 10 Jack Carty 9 Dave Moore
1 Rodney Ah You 2 Adrian Flavin 3 JP Cooney 4 Conor Kindregan 5 Dave Gannon 6 TJ Anderson (captain) 7 Dave Heffernan 8 Aaron Conneely
Replacements (from): 16 Kevin O'Byrne 17 Finlay Bealham 18 Ultan Dillane 19 Charlie Butterworth 20 Marcus Walsh 21 Mata Fifita 22 Finn Gormley
POOL FIVE – LEINSTER “A”
Some have billed tomorrow’s clash at Donnybrook between the joint leaders of the pool as “winner-take-all” but it’s not quite as simple as that. If Ponty can secure a losing bonus point then the pressure will be on Leinster to get a result at Leeds next week, though it could be said the English Championship side will be more interested in domestic matters as they are in a playoff race. Still, it makes for an interesting contest tomorrow, and surely Ponty will be kicking themselves for only drawing with Jersey in round one.
Saturday, 12 January 2013 Leinster v Pontypridd 14:00 Jersey v Leeds Carnegie 15:00
Saturday, 19 January 2013 Leeds Carnegie v Leinster 14:00 Pontypridd v Jersey 14:30
LEINSTER ‘A’ v Pontypridd
15: David Kearney 14: Andrew Conway 13: Brendan Macken 12: Jordan Coghlan 11: Fionn Carr 10: Noel Reid 9: John Cooney
1: Jack McGrath CAPTAIN 2: Thomas Sexton 3: Jamie Hagan 4: Ben Marshall 5: Mark Flanagan 6: Dominic Ryan 7: Conor Gilsenan 8: Leo Auva’a
REPLACEMENTS: 16: James Tracy 17: Jack O’Connell 18: Jack Conan 19: Josh van der Flier 20: Luke McGrath 21: Cathal Marsh 22: Andrew Boyle
POOL SEVEN – MUNSTER “A”
Munster made this pool interesting when they drew with Rotherham in round 4. Now even with a bonus point win in Aberavon this weekend, chances are they will still need a result against Plymouth next week to clinch the pool. The two English Championship sides square off on Saturday to see who gets to push the reigning cup holders for qualification.
Saturday, 12 January 2013 Aberavon v Munster 14:30 Plymouth Albion v Rotherham Titans 15:00
Friday, 18 January 2013 Munster v Plymouth Albion 19:00
Saturday, 19 January 2013 Rotherham Titans v Aberavon 14:00
Munster A v Aberavon:
D Hurley; D Barnes, S Deasy, I Dineen, R O'Mahony; JJ Hanrahan, C Sheridan; J Cronin, D Casey, A Cotter; D Foley, I Nagle;
Dave O'Callaghan, S Dougall, CJ Stander.
Replacements: N Scannell, C Condon, B Hayes, R Murphy, B Haugh, J Holland, D Sweetnam.
