Constitution carry best range of options

Brace yourselves Cork. Here come the Buccaneers, set to plunder and pillage your village tomorrow. By all accounts, the Ballinasloe/Athlone region is in a frenzy; two trains have been booked out alone and like their team, the pirates will travel in cavalier and optimistic fashion.

The pressure, conversely, is all on Constitution in many ways. Here is a club that stealthily crept along to the knockout stages. But the last-day defeat of Shannon, probably the performance of the campaign so far, ensures that they look like the best team in the country. They have registered seven straight wins and hold an unblemished home record of six wins from six. Supremely confident and well-coached, they are now the favourites to win the title outright and so, today, they are expected to prevail.

Buccaneers, by comparison, can bow out with any kind of performance and justifiably claim they had a good season and gave the AIL a breath of fresh air into the bargain. The AIL is not, as their clever and inspirational coach Eddie O'Sullivan points out, a beauty contest.

Buccaneers' game plan is straight-forward enough. Their set-pieces should hold up well, and thereafter they can launch their big forward target runners ad nauseum. But Constitution have the type of meaty back row which can put the ball-carrier under pressure and force turnovers, as Shannon did to Buccaneers.

Behind the packs, there should be a ding-dong battle between the two in-form former Munster adversaries, Brian O'Meara and Stephen McIvor. Both out-halves are good points gatherers and potential match-winners with the talented Ronan O'Gara (three tries and 59 points in four games) in a rich vein of form.

Though Buccaneers have some moves and under-appreciated pace up their sleeves, Constitution have more breadth to their game (24 of their 30 tries coming from their backs, whereas Buccaneers' backs have accounted for just six).

Given a dry day and the chance to move the Buccaneers juggernaut pack around, Constitution will assuredly take it, although, in the anticipated absence of Cian Mahony (hamstring) the home side must perm four from six in a reshuffled three-quarter line.

If Constitution get off to a good start, then they have more of a capacity to record a routine victory. As their coach Eddie O'Sullivan admits, Buccaneers are not a catch-up side. That was underlined in the collapse to Shannon.

However, if Buccaneers still have a sniff of it moving onto the hour mark or so, then such is their pack's ball retention and collective spirit, that they could well do it, for when it comes to digging deep, they are serious excavationists.

It's true that their away form has been sub-standard (two wins from five), but this has echoes of their second-leg promotion win in Dungannon - all the more so given the extensive support.

It should be quite an occasion.

Match Facts

Cork Constitution (probable): B Walsh; J Kelly, A Byrne, Conor Mahony, D O'Brien; R O'Gara, B O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheahan, J O'Driscoll, D Sheahan, K Murphy, D Corkery, U O'Callaghan, J Murray.

Buccaneers (probable): R Lee; M Devine, O Cobbe, C Gormley, T Stuart-Traynor; S Allnutt, S McIvor; J Screene, J McVeigh, M Cahill, B Rigney, Donal Rigney, Des Rigney, M Steffert, E Brennan.

Referee: A Lewis (Leinster).

Last two seasons: (97/98 didn't meet) Cork Constitution 32, Buccaneers 25. Last five matches: Constitution - W W W W W. Buccaneers - W W W L W.

Leading try scorers: Constitution - Brian Walsh 5, David O'Brien 4, John Kelly, Conor Mahony, Ronan O'Gara 3 each; Buccaneers - Brian Rigney 4, Robert Lee 3.

Leading points scorers: Constitutiuon - Ronan O'Gara 127; Buccaneers - Simon Allnutt 111.

Odds (Paddy Powers): 4/11 Constitution, 16/1 draw, 2/1 Buccaneers. Handicap odds: 5/6 Constitution (-10pts), 16/1 draw, 5/6 Buccaneers (+10pts).

Forecast: Cork Constitution to win.