Women: AIL Week 4 Preview

 The Week 4 Preview features Cooke, Enniskillen, City of Derry, Queen’s University and Belfast Harlequins.

In AIL 1 Cooke are on the road to face Dublin outfit St. Mary’s in what should be a close game. St Mary’s have shipped a lot of points in their first two games but came storming back last week with a substantial win over bottom of the table  Blackrock. It’s been a similar pattern for Cooke who claimed their first league points last week in a draw against fourth placed Tralee and both sides will be looking to build on their return to form. However I think home advantage will count in this one and I expect St Mary’s to win in what should be a tight game with Cooke having a good chance of picking up a losing bonus.

FRU Predicts: St Mary’s

Enniskillen play their first home fixture in AIL2 this Sunday when they entertain Navan and I’m predicting another close match here. Both teams have suffered substantial defeats by Queen’s University  this season though both showed enough to trouble the high flying students at times. I expect to see home advantage make the difference in this one as well plus I think that Skins will have the stamina to pull a couple of scores clear at the end.

FRU Predicts: Enniskillen

The third fixture features Garda against City of Derry also in AIL2. Strangely the police side pulled out of last weeks fixture against Belfast Harlequins after showing good early form in the league and if they field a full strength side they should be too strong for the young Derry side. I hear that Derry have been training hard this week and the stalwarts  Stacey Lea Kennedy  and Kelly Holmes have the ability to lift the players round them but I think that this one is just too early in the season for the rebuilding Derry side.

FRU Predicts: Garda

It’s going to be a case of who cracks first at The Dub when Queen’s take on Belfast Harlequins in what will be our featured match this weekend. Already the coaches are getting edgy and the players are putting in that bit extra in training for a match which is expected to decide who wins the AIL2N this season. As you’ll find out next week the FRU has a foot in both camps and I’m expecting a high scoring game with plenty of BOOM from both teams but I think that the more experienced Quins side will edge this one.

FRU Predicts: Quins

Women’s AIL: Week 4 Fixtures. 

Div1	St. Mary’s	v	Cooke	Templeville Road
Div 2	Enniskillen	v	Navan RFC	Mullaghmeen
Div 2	Garda	v	City Of Derry	Westmanstown
Div 2	Queen’s University	v	Belfast Harlequins	Dub Lane

All fixtures 13:00 Sunday 21st October.

AIL League 1

Pos		Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	TB	LB	Pts
1		Highfield	3	3	0	0	158	3	155	3	0	15
2		U.L. Bohemian	3	3	0	0	107	17	90	2	0	14
3		Old Belvedere	3	2	0	1	103	15	88	2	1	11
4		Tralee	3	1	1	1	54	70	-16	1	0	7
5		Galwegians	3	1	0	2	77	87	-10	1	0	5
6		St. Mary’s	3	1	0	2	36	87	-51	1	0	5
7		Cooke	3	0	1	2	29	151	-122	0	0	2
8		Blackrock	3	0	0	3	3	137	-134	0	0	0

AIL League 2 

Pos		Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	TB	LB	Pts
1		Belfast Harlequins	3	3	0	0	86	0	86	2	0	15
2		Queens University	2	2	0	0	79	15	64	2	0	10
3		City Of Derry	2	1	0	1	0	43	-43	0	0	5
4		Navan RFC	3	1	0	2	23	99	-76	0	0	4
5		Garda	2	1	0	1	48	0	48	1	0	3
6		Enniskillen	1	0	0	1	10	43	-33	0	0	0
7		Cavan	3	0	0	3	15	61	-46	0	1	-1