Buccs away to Corinthians in floodlit Friday night clash

Buccaneers face a very difficult Energia All-Ireland League assignment when they head west tonight (Friday) to face Galway Corinthians at Corinthian Park where the floodlit action gets under way at 7.30pm.

Corinthians were surprisingly scoreless away to Banbridge last Saturday, suffering only their second defeat of the season. As a result they now trail Division 2A leaders Instonians by five points.

For their part, Buccs have had a torrid winless campaign and will have to play out of their skins to be competitive. However, derby games have a life of their own so the Pirates will be hoping that they can repeat their Connacht League win at the same venue earlier in the season.

Buccaneers lost 41-7 to Navan at Dubarry Park last Saturday in what was the Meath club's first competitive visit to Athlone - see report and photos in this week's Westmeath Independent.

Meanwhile, Buccaneers U-20s take on Blackrock College at Stradbrook in the JP Fanagan Leinster Premier League 2 on Sunday when this 'Super Six' Group One clash kicks off at 2pm.

Blackrock were the highest qualifiers for this section and drew 38-38 at home to UCD last Sunday. Buccs had a fine win over Dublin University despite missing a number of players. If they are close to full strength for this trip to Dublin, they can cause an upset.

Underage league finals

Buccaneers and Galway Corinthians go head to head again on Saturday in the Bank of Ireland Connacht U-16 League final replay at Loughrea with this much anticipated decider kicking off at 2.30pm.

Buccs and Galway Corinthians are also contesting the Bank of Ireland Connacht U-17 League final which takes place at Monivea on Sunday with the action kicking off at 3pm.