Having Been pipped on goal difference in the Senior and Under-18 Interprovincial Tournaments this season, and having finished runnersup in the under-21 championships, Munster will hope home advantage brings them a little more luck when they open the defence of their Under-16 Interprovincial title at Garryduff today.
Six of the squad that won the McCullough Trophy in Galway last January are still eligible for this year's team which plays Ulster, last year's runners-up, in the opening match of the tournament before taking on Leinster later today.
Meanwhile, in the Leinster League, Trinity, who have already beaten Muckross this season, have the power to reopen the Senior A title chase once more if they can take points off leaders Hermes at Belfield tomorrow afternoon. Hermes' win over Loreto on Wednesday night widened the gap at the top of the table to seven points over Loreto and 10 over Muckross, who have two games in hand.
Muckross will need a victory over the ever-improving Glenanne at Rathdown if their hopes of retaining their title are not to recede further. On Sunday, Loreto will be in desperate need of a win against Genesis at Loughlinstown to revive their flagging spirits after successive defeats by Old Alexandra (in the Irish Senior Cup) and Hermes in the past week.
In Senior B, leaders UCD, who narrowly missed out on promotion last season, play third-placed Aer Lingus at Belfield tomorrow while Corinthian, who are two points behind UCD and one ahead of Aer Lingus, take on Maids at Grange Road.
On the eve of their third-round Ulster Shield match, away to Victorians, Coleraine have received a surprise boost with the announcement by their player-coach, South African Caryn Bentley, that she will not play for her country in May's World Cup finals in Holland. The 23-year-old from Durban, who was due to return to South Africa for a two-week training camp yesterday, has decided to take a break from international hockey and will instead concentrate on her playing and coaching role at Coleraine.
Details of Ireland's build-up to August's European Under-21 Nations Cup in Belfast have been announced this week. The team will play nine internationals in the four-month period leading up to the tournament, including games against each of their group opponents: Germany, Spain and England.
International Programme: Training at Queens University, April 15-17; two matches v Germany, Belfast, May 2-3; training at Queens University, June 20-21, June 27-30; two matches v England, Belfast, June 27-30; two matches v Germany, Hanover, July 17-19; Four Nations Tournament (Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Wales), Cardiff, July 24-26.
