Last Saturday the Seniors had their final match preparation before what can arguably be described as the biggest match in the history of the club this Saturday at home to Queens.

The match was played on a solid surface and both teams showed a willingness to give the ball some air. The Corinthians scrum and line outs set up a solid platform, and combined with sharp backline defence and strong physical exchanges at the breakdown, the visitors were by no means outplayed in the early stages of the game. Galwegians soon realised they were going to be made work hard for a victory and duly picked up the tempo opting to put width on the ball at every opportunity. Corinthians however responded well and stood up to the challenge and actually controlled the game for long periods of play. For the visitors Hugh Griffin and replacement Shane Mac Inerney both scored tries with Dave Clark adding two conversions and a penalty to set up a well deserved 17-13 victory. This result meant that Corinthians have now beat their city rivals in both the Connacht Senior Cup and league this season. This brings us to next weeks penultimate game of the AIL where a win against Queens will guarantee promotion to division two. Corinthians will be going into this knowing what's at stake and more focused than ever before on clinching victory. We urge rugby supporters throughout the province to come out on the day for the 2.30pm kick off and support a fellow Connacht side in their endeavours to gain promotion to a higher division.

Junior Cup Final

Corinthians 6 - Monivea 14

Last Sunday's Junior Cup Final started off with both sides getting stuck in to the game which was to prove unrewarding for the first half for both teams. Monivea had the most opportunities with the majority of possession and three kickable penalties that went wide and Corinthians applied the pressure towards the end of the first half but despite several breaks for the line they didn't get to convert them into scores which resulted in both sides going into the half time break nil all.               Scores finally appeared on the board for the second half. The first try came after nine minutes as a result of a stolen lineout and run up the wing for a try under the posts by Rory O'Connor which was converted by Ger O'Connor. Corinthians responded with huge pressure from their back row and replacement out half Dave Clarke got scores on the board for Corinthians when he kicked a penalty and executed drop goal in an effort to snatch back the lead. It wasn't to be however, as a turnover deep in Monivea territory resulted in Ger O'Connor scoring off an inside pass from Darren Blade from inside the Corinthian 22 and which he duly converted. Monivea came out deserved winners in a hard fought game that saw them finally clinching victory after 4 previous defeats in their last 4 finals.

Monivea: K Higgins; R O'Connor, F O'Neill, F Cloonan, G Divilly; G O'Connor, D Blade; G Fitzmaurice, P Devane, F Farrell; W Parker, R Lally; P Fitzmaurice, M King, E Rooney.Replacement: R Coughlin for Farrell, C Divilly for G Fitzmaurice, L Mitchell for King, P Blade for Ger O'Connor and B McDonnagh for O'Neill.

Corinthians: R Ferguson; G Divilly, F Gormley, D O'Sullivan, K Dolan; B O'Sullivan, G Faherty; M Kelly, D Barber, C O'Shea; J Dileen, G Ward; B McCann, T Linnane, C McGuckian.Replacements: B Barrett for Kelly, D Clarke for Faherty, S McInearney for McGuckian, D Murphy for McGuckian.

Referee: D Flood