Insta to take crack at champions

Catholic Institute will attempt to prove they are worth a place at Irish hockey’s top table when they welcome Irish Hockey League holders Pegasus to Rosbrien tomorrow (1pm). With the first three rounds of the IHL crammed into the next four weekends, those sides who have started the season with a flourish can hope to catch others off guard. Although coach Ger O’Carroll reckons Institute have a long way to go to find their rhythm, a 6-0 away win at Bandon and defeating UCC by the odd goal in three in an early season six-pointer should bode well for Insta, even if they’ll be without injured Munster U18 captain Róisín Upton and Sheena Mannion.

Elsewhere in Pool A, Ireland Youth Olympic captain Leah Ewart faces  her childhood club Armagh with her new UCD team-mates, while Emma Russell does likewise for Old Alex against Hermes. Pool B sees a battle of two close friends as Rachel McSharry (Cork Harlequins) and Nicci Daly (Loreto) square off at Beaufort, with the hosts hotly fancied to claim the points, particularly after an indifferent start to the season from Quins. Loreto found their range in the 5-0 win over Lisnagarvey last week, and Quins will have to cut out the stray passes and turnovers which characterised their second-half collapse against UCD last week. The same goes at the Joey Dunlop Centre as a new-look UCC side make their second visit to Ulster in eight days to face Ballymoney, while Lurgan look forward to the first instalment of a double header against Railway Union, whom they’ve also been drawn against in the Irish Senior Cup. In the men’s competition, Cork Harlequins will review acquaintances with Glenanne — a rivalry that often spilled over during the mid-to-late 2000s. These are two clubs who can never be accused of shirking when the going gets tough, and who produced one of the most memorable games in Munster in recent years – a 2007 ISC semi-final epic won 4-3 by Glens. The Tallaght side no longer have Stephen Butler or Shane O’Donoghue plundering the goals, but that’s balanced out by the likely absence of injury victims  Paul Lombard and Jason Black, both former Irish internationals who are vital to the Quins cause. In the other pool, Cork C of I travel to play Pembroke Wanderers, with both sides unrecognisable from their previous meeting, a 2-1 Irish Senior Cup win for the Purples at Garryduff in 2009. That year also saw C of I seconds thump a shell-shocked Pembroke 5-1 in an Irish Junior Cup final, but few players involved tomorrow will have memories of either.

The hosts will go in as favourites, given they have international quality in Alan Giles, Tim Lewis and Alan Sothern back in two while imports Matt Brown and Pieter van Langenhuijesen have settled in nicely – the latter hitting the winners in the big win over Glenanne recently. C of I will bank on former UCD man Shane O’Donnell for some insider knowledge, while hoping the pace of Gary Wilkinson and Alec Moffett’s industry can win the corners for John Jermyn to do his thing. Domestically, the meeting of Bandon and UCC at the Mardyke could be the most important of either side’s Munster campaign, given the closeness of their battles to claim third place and an IHL wildcard slot in recent years. Bandon have had the Indian sign over the students but the latter will hope their batch of new signings will help tilt the balance in their favour, though the west Cork side will be glad to welcome back David Smith and Andrew Kingston after last weekend’s humbling home defeat to UCD. Elsewhere, four women’s Examiner Cup ties will take place in Limerick, as the practice of using the Treaty City as neutral territory for clashes between Cork and Galway sides continues. Galway are the holders here and will fancy their chances of taking on Belvedere, who have found wins hard to come by since dropping to Division 2 – they have two draws and a defeat from three games – and have lost many of last year’s side. Last year’s beaten finalists Ashton will come up against a few familiar faces when they lock horns with an NUIG side featuring ex-Bandon schemer Sile Johnson, plus UCC alumni Rosie Shanahan and Louise Riordan. Greenfields take on Bandon at Crescent while UL are the only side with true home advantage as they take on C of I for the second time in a week, having come away from Garryduff with two league points last weekend. Men Irish Hockey League Rd 1 Pool A: Cookstown v Banbride (Coolnafranky, 2.30pm); Cork Harlequins v Glenanne (Harlequin Park, 3pm); Monkstown v Instonians (Rathdown, 3pm); Pool B: Lisnagarvey v YMCA (Hillsborough, 1pm); Pembroke Wanderers v Cork C of I (Serpentine Avenue, 3pm); Annadale v Three Rock Rovers (Lough Moss, 3pm); Munster Div 1: UCC v Bandon (Mardyke, 1pm). Women Irish Hockey League Rd 1 Pool A: Catholic Institute v Pegasus (Rosbrien, 1pm); UCD v Armagh (UCD, 1pm); Old Alex v Hermes (Milltown, 3.30pm); Pool B: Loreto v Cork Harlequins (Loreto Beaufort, 1.15pm); Ballymoney v UCC (Joey Dunlop Centre, 2.30pm); Lurgan v Railway Union (Lurgan HS, 2.30pm); Examiner Cup: UL v C of I (UL, 1pm); Greenfields v Bandon (Crescent, 2.30pm); Belvedere v Galway (Villiers, 2.30pm); NUIG v Ashton (Rosbrien, 3pm).