Team check: Ballymena may restore McDowell

Ballymena

Andre Bester expects to field a largely unchanged side for Saturday's third-v-second meeting with Galwegians, though once again the Ballymena coach will weigh up the option of restoring Stanley McDowell to the starting line-up. However, Gary Longwell is unlikely to start, given he is playing in the Rest of Ireland second-row at Thomond Park on Friday night. In that scenario, either Rupert West or Darryl O'Kane could be a straight replacement, or alternatively Bester could juggle with backrowers Andy Graham and Derek Topping.

Beginning with Galwegians, Ballymena play six of their seven main rivals for top four places on the run-in, their remaining fixtures after Saturday being: St Mary's (away), Young Munster (home), Shannon (h), Dungannon (a) and Cork Constitution (a). "It should be an interesting few weeks," says Bester, laughing.

Galwegians

The probability of changes following Cork Constitution's bloodless coup last Saturday has been strengthened by the presence of Peter Bracken and Eric Elwood in the respective panels for the Rest of Ireland v Munster game on Friday. Coach John Kingston is considering whether or not they should be involved and to what extent after missing Galwegians' preparations all week.

Although Bracken could be released today Elwood is definitely on the Ireland bench this Friday, and Kingston could move either Tim Allnutt or Gavin Duffy into the outhalf role. Almost certainly room will be made either way for Connacht winger Denver Rumney after the limp tackling effort of the Galwegians three-quarter line last Saturday.

Belfast Harlequins

To compound their injury woes and run of six successive defeats, the bottom-placed club will almost certainly be without their Irish under-21 back row Chris McCarey, whose ankle is in plaster after he sustained ankle ligament damage last Saturday. Last season's captain, Chris Galway will probably return, with this season's captain Gerard O'Loan switching to number eight. With three Harlequins' scrumhalves injured at the moment, Andy Matchett, James Pollin and Neil Wilson, the former Irish schools' scrumhalf David Spence made an impressive debut as a first-half replacement for David Jack last Saturday. The dual status player, released for the rest of the season by Queen's University, could start at home to Clontarf. Prop Simon Best will almost certainly be ruled out, given he is starting in the Rest of Ireland in Limerick the previous evening.

Clontarf

Team manager Peter Walsh says Clontarf expect to bring the same 21 who did duty in Ballymena last Saturday for a return journey north this Saturday, on the premise that impending fatherhood will again rule Richie Murphy out of the equation.

- The Terenure-Young Munster first division tie has become the sixth casualty of this Saturday's scheduled programme after the Limerick club successfully applied for a postponement of the match as two of their players, Peter Clohessy and Mike Mullins, will be in the Munster side on Good Friday, while a third, scrumhalf Mike Prendergast, has been called into the panel. Terenure, who would also have been missing two front-rank players, Girvan Dempsey and Eric Miller, were willing to go ahead with the game.

The Garryowen-Buccaneers game was called off because of the state of the pitch last Sunday, so the fixture congestion is mounting and the Appeals Committee will tonight hear a counter appeal from Old Crescent after their scheduled meeting with St Mary's, fixed for this Saturday, was rearranged for April 25th in light of the latter having three players involved in the Munster-Ireland game. City of Derry have also appealed against their match with Midleton going ahead next Tuesday.