All eyes on Greystones

All-Ireland League:Organisers of the AIB Cup will contemplate playing the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the competition outside their current slots next February and March. While no AIB League games, which begin this week, have been scheduled for the five Six Nations Championships weekends, the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Cup could be played on the Friday evening or Sunday morning of the weekends when Ireland play Italy and Wales in Croke Park.

While that initiative is being contemplated, the League will kick off this Saturday with matches from all three divisions taking place, with many following the progress of Greystones in particular.

The Wicklow club have been promoted to the top league, having won the Division Two championship final last season, and face Dolphin away in their first test. Secondrow Neil Megannety captains the side, with Colin McEntee entering his second season as head coach.

In all, 48 clubs from the four provinces will compete, making it the most widely-based competition in the country.

Garryowen will open the defence of their Division One crown against Ballymena in Eaton Park, where flanker Paul Neville captains the champions for his second season. Former Scotland international scrumhalf and 1991 World Cup participant Greig Oliver comes in as director of coaching at Dooradoyle for his first year.

"They want to take our scalp, knock us off the perch. That's the way it is," says Neville. "We'd a piece of that already last week, when we were knocked out of the Munster Senior Cup, which, to be honest, is a bitter pill.

"This week we've Ballymena away . . . obviously we want to retain the trophy. It is a huge goal for us this year along with the AIB Cup. I know everyone says it but you just have to go out there and try to win every week. Because there are so many games, you could have a different team week in week out."

Elsewhere, Des Dillon, who played 57 times for Leinster, captains the Blackrock side, which last season finished seventh. Two former college pupils, Barry Gibney and Emmet Farrell, the former Leinster outhalf before a succession of knee injuries ended his career, coach the club.

Shannon, who are almost always in the final shake up, have Mick Galwey as coach for the fourth season. The former Ireland secondrow led Shannon to fifth place last year and will look for improvement. Shannon have won this title eight times in the 17 years it has been competed for.

They face Old Belvedere in Dublin this weekend. Shannon will also have scrumhalf Fiach O'Loughlin back in harness this season.

Following a stint playing for and captaining Clontarf, who this year have Kiwi Andy Wood in his first season as coach, O'Loughlin returns to his roots.