Kilballyowen Park will be the venue on Saturday afternoon as our seniors take on Bruff in the fourth round of the All Ireland League. The home side are most famous for having produced legendary Irish prop, John Hayes, and they’re looking forward to hosting our high-flyers in the heartland of Munster rugby country.
Bruff were beaten in the opening round a few weeks ago but have bounced back with two wins to currently sit fifth in the table. They defeated Tullamore 13-9 in Offaly last time out in a wet and windy Spollanstown, where handling was difficult.
The Limerick men had the better of the opening half thanks to a try from scrum half Daniel Jackson who nipped through a gap created by the forwards, and three successful kicks from out-half Tony Cahill.
Despite the best efforts of both sides there were no scores to be had in the second period and Bruff went home with a hard-earned win.
They will be looking to build on that display with a home win over Ballina on Saturday and the Mayo men are well aware of the task awaiting them in Kilballyowen Park.
Ballina will travel south in buoyant form. They have won their opening three games and amassed 14 points from a possible 15, but they’ll be taking nothing for granted.
This is the biggest test of the season to date and it will certainly be another learning opportunity for the Moy men. How they react to the challenge posed by the Munster outfit will be interesting and whether they get the chance to unleash their running game on the home side remains to be seen.
The two-week break between the victory over Malahide and this encounter will have been an opportunity for injuries to heal and there will be more selection headaches for Dave Newman and JP Leonard this week.
However, whatever combination they come up with will most certainly be competitive and we’re all looking forward to an exciting and entertaining encounter on the road.
Good luck to all. Safe travels.