All-Ireland League preview

GAME OF THE DAY

Garryowen v UCC (Dooradoyle, 2.0) Having ended Lansdowne’s Bateman Cup title defence in dramatic fashion last weekend, Garryowen will be full of confidence going into this afternoon’s league clash against UCC.

Liam Cronin, who is the younger brother of Seán (Leinster) and Neil (Munster), has been in fine form this season and it was the winger’s lastgasp try that helped Garryowen to what was an impressive victory.

UCC will have their hands full in their attempts to keep Cronin quiet today, and desperately need to do so if they are to reignite their challenge to remain in the top flight.

The students have won just one game this season and are currently just one place and six points off the foot of the table.

Young out-half James Taylor will be central to UCC’s hopes of avoiding the drop but against a rejuvenated Garryowen side, that task won’t get any easier in Limerick today.

INTERNATIONAL SQUAD TRAIN

Competition for places in the Ireland team for the upcoming club internationals are heating up after the squad held their second of four training camps last weekend.

Head coach Morgan Lennon and his assistant Johne Murphy will be monitoring the form of their players ahead of the first of two clashes against Scotland on February 2.

“There are plenty of examples of where guys have moved on to bigger and better things,” Murphy told IrishRugby.ie. “The players know there’s an opportunity there to put themselves in the shop window at a higher level.”

1 – MU Barnhall are the only team across all five divisions with a 100 per cent winning record (9/9).