The Heineken Junior Cup final kicks off this weekend when the Westport Bulls lock horns with Monivea at the Sportsground and in what promises to be a feast of Junior rugby, Buccaneers and Galwegians will get the pulses racing with the Heineken Junior Plate final on beforehand.
Westport have had a number of tricky away assignments to get this far, beating OLBC (16-10) in the Sportsground before a spirited quarterfinal against NUIG in Dangan saw them edge out the Students 24-15. A comfortable 18-3 win over fellow Mayo side Ballina in the semi-final sets up the Bulls for Sunday’s final. Ballina on the other hand had two comprehensive home victories over Galwegians (27-10) and Corinthians (13-7) leading into the semi-final, but were unable to cope with the accuracy of Westport on the day.
On the other side of the draw, Monivea had to travel to Cloondeash and beat Castlebar 29-12 in the semi-final after accounting for Buccaneers (22-0) away and Connemara (16-8) at home. Beaten semi-finalists Castlebar had a fine run of luck with three home games, notching up victories over Ballyhaunis (15-3) and Ballinrobe (27-18) before succumbing to Monivea at the semi-final stage.
In the Plate competition, Buccaneers exited the Cup at the hands of Monivea and went on to registered victories over Dunmore and Sligo, while Galwegians, smarting after their loss to Ballina, went on to rack up impressive wins over Corrib, Ballyhaunis and Ballinasloe to book their place in the Heineken Junior Plate final.
Heineken Junior Plate final
Buccaneers v Galwegians
Kick off 13:00
Heineken Junior Cup final
Westport Bulls v Monivea
kicks off at 15:00
Entry to both games at the Sportsground is FREE.