Glenanne, aiming to retain the Neville Cup by subduing Pembroke Wanderers at Serpentine Avenue on St Stephen's Day, would thus complete a first-half-of-the-season double, having won the Stephen Doyle trophy by overpowering Avoca at Hallowe'en. They also carried off both of these pots last year.

Now, no doubt, they have ambitions of capturing the two major Leinster titles, league and Mills Cup, from Pembroke in the second half of the campaign, to achieve a grand slam.

Glenanne lead the Statoil-fuelled championship by five points but Pembroke are still counting on their rivals slipping up. These two sides have also been drawn to face each other in the quarter-finals of the Cable & Wireless-sponsored cup in January. Having won both meetings so far, if by the narrowest of margins, Glenanne may feel a shade stronger and if they are not afflicted by flu or seasonal excesses, they should prevail again.