WOMEN'S HOCKEY:The format may have changed over the years, significantly so in recent seasons, but for almost a decade now Pegasus and Hermes, between them, have dominated the ESB All-Ireland Club Championships.

Pegasus completed a five-in-a-row in 2002, but Hermes have won three of the last four titles, including the 2006 decider against the Belfast club, when Molly Powers scored the game's only goal.

The last time the All-Ireland league title went to a club outside the "big two" was 1997 when Muckross triumphed.

This season, however, Muckross, who dominated Irish hockey for a lengthy spell, finished second from bottom of the Leinster third division, a sobering indication of quickly the mighty can fall.

The question now, as it has been for the last nine years, is whether the supremacy of Pegasus and Hermes in this competition can be broken, with Loreto, Cork Harlequins, Old Alexandra, Randalstown, Church of Ireland and Ballymoney their challengers this time around.

Alexandra are the only change from last year's line-up, replacing Railway Union.

From that group Loreto, as Leinster champions this season, should prove to be serious contenders, but their record in this competition in recent years has been, generally, poor. They are top seeds in a competitive Pool B, which also includes Alexandra, who should be sharpened by their European Cup Winners' Cup campaign in Madrid over Easter, Munster champions Cork Harlequins and Randalstown, the only team to beat Pegasus this season (in the Ulster Shield back in September).

The top two in each pool go through to Saturday week's semi-finals at Belfield, the winners meeting in the final the following day. The unenviable task of denying Pegasus and/or Hermes a place in the last four falls to their Pool A opponents, Church of Ireland and Ballymoney, who meet the top seeds today.

ALL-IRELAND CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS (at Belfield) - Pool A: Pegasus, Hermes, Church of Ireland, Ballymoney. Pool B: Loreto, Cork Harlequins, Old Alexandra, Randalstown. Today - Pool A: Hermes v Ballymoney, 4pm, Church of Ireland v Pegasus, 8pm. Pool B: Loreto v Old Alexandra, 2pm, Cork Harlequins v Randalstown, 6pm. Tomorrow - Pool A: Hermes v Church of Ireland, noon; Pegasus v Ballymoney, 2pm. Pool B: Old Alexandra v Cork Harlequins, 10am; Loreto v Randalstown, 4pm. Sunday - Pool A: Church of Ireland v Ballymoney, 10am; Pegasus v Hermes, 4pm. Pool B: Old Alexandra v Randalstown, noon; Loreto v Cork Harlequins, 2pm.