The tournament fell victim to the weather last weekend, with the pitches at Kilkenny College frozen and unplayable, denying the squads a chance to represent their province and impress Irish selectors.

While Munster and Ulster officials decided to award their squad members with representative badges, Leinster declined to do so, and the fallout has continued this week, with provincial branches and the IHA seemingly at odds over how the tournament will be funded if it is rescheduled.

Munster Branch president John Rose said: “If the IHA want to reschedule the tournament, they will have to pick up the tab – the branches and parents can’t afford to pay any more than they already have.”

The MBIHA are likely to raise the issue at one of their ordinary meetings with members of the IHA board in Cork tonight, while the IHA’s competitions committee will also be contacting each branch to see if a solution can be found.

Munster U16 girls coach John Hobbs believes selecting the Ireland U16 team could prove problematic if the interpros aren't rescheduled. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Munster U16 coach John Hobbs said all avenues should be exhausted to get the competition played.

“In my opinion it’s a shame for the girls to have trained so hard since last May, coming through a trials procedure, giving up countless weekends and dedicating their time and effort into preparing for the tournament only to have it cancelled due to adverse weather conditions,” he said.

“While I can appreciate that we cannot plan for these things (the weather), it does not alleviate the fact that these girls have been short-changed. Some of them are only 13 years old, and it’s a huge disappointment for them.”

Hobbs suggested the IHA could seek sponsorship for a rescheduled tournament, and warned further problems could arise in terms of selecting an Irish U16 team if the competition did not go ahead.

“They should all have a chance to represent their provinces with pride during this season, as they have worked extremely hard to earn the opportunity. If that means finding the funds to re-fix this tournament, then all avenues should be exhausted by the IHA.

“It seems like it boils down to a cost benefit situation, and the branches, schools and particularly the parents have also invested a lot of money into the preparation and travel for the girls for the original tournament and perhaps the IHA might seek sponsorship for the tournament and its subsequent costs.

“I would imagine an (international) squad would have to be picked for the mid-term matches against England at U16 and U18 levels, and while the U18s have played their tournament and have been awarded trials at this level, it remains to be seen how this would be possible for under 16s.

“As coach of the Munster squad, I have not seen my girls in action competitively against their peers from the other provinces and as such, I cannot judge the standards across the provinces objectively.”

Munster players and Bandon Grammar students Gemma Kingston, 14, and Nicola Kerr, 15, said they and their team-mates deserve to have the tournament played.

“We went all that way for nothing – everyone was so disappointed,” said Gemma. “Our first trial was in June and we’ve been training every weekend since for this.

“We’ve put in so much work, we deserve to get something out of it. And our parents have put in the time and money, bringing us to all the training sessions – they deserve something too.”

Nicola added: “The atmosphere on the bus home was awful, everyone was so upset. We had put so much effort into it.”

IHA high performance director Dave Passmore said he attempted to get the U16 and U18 interpros moved forward in 2006 to prevent the tournaments falling victim to the weather, and to reduce the training load on young athletes who also have club and school commitments.

However, the proposal was rejected by schools and youths representatives from Leinster and Ulster.

College’s amazing 3-0 win over Cork Harlequins a few weeks ago has put them level on points with the champions of the last 13 seasons, with Cork C of I just three behind, albeit with a game in hand.

Should they get a result against struggling Belvedere – who lost Kay Gaffney to Cork Harlequins in recent weeks – it will stand them in good stead ahead of a home clash with C of I and a visit to Quins on subsequent weekends in the run-up to Christmas.

Leanne Mullins (left) will be hoping to impress in Munster colours at the U16 Interpros in Kilkenny this weekend. Picture: Adrian Boehm

The results of those games are likely to tell whether there will be a genuine three-way battle for the title this season, though Quins will have no intention of letting their dominance be broken anytime soon.

They go into their clash with Catholic Institute this weekend on the back of a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Pembroke Wanderers in the IHL, but are still likely to be without skipper Eimear Cregan, who continues to be troubled by a foot problem.

Quins coach Clive Seale will surely have had his charges sharpening up their short corner routines, after they had an off-day with them against Pembroke.

They won’t have things all their own way though – Institute’s hopes cannot be discounted thanks to the three-pronged attacking threat of Naomi Carroll, Kym Daly and Rosie Pratt, and they have shored things up at the back, condeding just once in three games after shipping seven in their first two.

Meanwhile, Cork C of I will look to restore some pride after the 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Belfast Harlequins last weekend when they travel to Bandon, who haven’t won since an opening-day 6-0 demolition of Institute.

At the other end of the table, there’s a six-pointer between bottom-feeders Ashton and UL, who are just a point better off, as both look to ease their relegation worries.

Division Two leaders Waterford will be confident of maintaining their 100% record as bottom side UCC visit the Déise county, and former Irish international Kristen Farrell – back with her hometown club after a long stint in Dublin with Hermes – will be keen to continue her recent goalscoring streak. Second-placed Catholic Institute, who are a point behind, will look to keep up the pressure by defeating C of I.

In Division Three, Fermoy will be hoping to use their game in hand against Dungarvan to leapfrog Waterford into second place, and leaders Belvedere meet C of I.

Meanwhile, Cork Harlequins’ John Hobbs takes charge of the Munster U16 girls as they travel to Kilkenny for their Interpros, where Connacht will be looking to defend their first ever interprovincial title.

Catholic Institute’s Roisin Upton captains the southern province, for whom Cork Harlequins starlets Leanne Mullins and Jennifer Murphy  – who both have tasted senior hockey already – and C of I’s Nicola Kerr are expected to star.

Connacht include a number of Ireland U18 internationals, including wunderkind  Freddie Timmins of Galway – who becomes the first player to skipper the U16 side for two consecutive seasons – and Dora Gorman of Greenfields.

Leinster and Ulster are, as always, strong across the board, with former IHA coaching development manager Mick McKinnon taking charge of the former, meaning Leinster league leaders Railway Union have the weekend off.