JURY’S HOTELS
WARWICKSHIRE SENIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

After one month of action, three teams have established a marker for the rest to aim at in the Jury`s Hotels Warwickshire Senior Football League, these being John Mitchels, Sean McDermotts and Erin Go Bragh.
John Mitchels have been impressive in their early matches, taking the scalp of last years champions Roger Casements in their first match and had a good win over Four Masters, while most recently they notched 8:16 against the unfortunate Western Gaels who caught their opponents on top form. Sean McDermotts are level with their old rivals Mitchels on 6 points and were very impressive recently when accounting fo Naomh Padraig at Pairc Na h`Eireann.
The other team sharing top billing is Erin Go Bragh who, after a quiet start saw off both Roger Casements and St Barnabas in the space of 4 days. In the first of these matches a strong final 20 minutes saw them in control against Casements, winning on a score of 2:10 to 1:7. A few days later they conceded 2:1 in the final 10 minutes but still ran out 3 points winners against St Barnabas, in a dress rehearsal for their first round championship tie.
Their is already a gap of 4 points to the chasing pack, which includes senior new boys Naomh Padraig, senior champions Roger Casements, St Finbarrs, Four Masters and St Barnabas, each with one win from their outings to date. The final places are occupied by Western Gaels (Bristol) and St Colmcilles (Cardiff), who commenced their fixtures later than the other teams and so have a few games to catch up.
With the top three likely to start meeting each other in the next few weeks, one or more will start to drop points and the competition will open up.

WARWICKSHIRE INTERMEDIATE
FOOTBALL LEAGUE

You could be forgiven for mistaking the Intermediate League table for the Senior one given the fact that the top three are also John Mitchels, Sean McDermotts and Erin Go Bragh. All have notched up three wins to head the table, with no defeats to date.
The three pacemakers are followed by St Mary`s following their re-grading, who have 4 points from 4 matches. One of the most interesting ties to date saw John Mitchels beat St Mary`s in impressive fashion at Paic Na h`Eireann, finding the net 3 times during the game. Erin Go Bragh were also impressive in their recent defeat of The Gaels.
The likes of St Brendans (intermedate champions), St Mary`s, O`Rahilly`s, Sons Of Erin and The Gaels will have someting to say about the league title in the next few weeks and Roger Casements young intermedate side will also be trying hard.
After the first 4 teams in the league, the table is a bit confusing as some of the teams appear to have re-arranged some of the fixtures themselves without notifying the County Secretary or the Fixtures Committee. Should teams wish to do this they must notify the County Secretary and Fixtures Committee so that a referee can be appointed and to ensure that other fixtures can go ahead.

 

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Warwickshire Hurlers
Prepare For Rackard Cup

Following their promising performances in last years inaugural Nicky Rackard Cup, Warwickshire hurlers have been diligantly preparing for the 2006 competition.
Despite only having one warm-up game last year, against London`s second string in the British Provincial Final, Warwickshire proved competitive against both Monaghan and Longford, running both to a few points. In their final game which was a "dead rubber" London beat Warwickshire comfortably however it should be noted that of the 12 teams competing for the Rackard Cup in 2005, London alone were also afforded the opportunity to play in the Ulster Senior Championship which the other Ulster County in the Group (Monaghan) were deemed not strong enough to enter.
It is with mixed feelings therefore that we note Derry`s presence in Warwickshire`s group for 2006. Derry, having been relegated from the second All-Ireland tier (The Christy Ring Cup), find themselves in the same position as London in 2005 and will be hot favourites to win the competition outright. Although likely to be very strong compared to their opponents in the Rackard Cup, hurling followers in the midlands will be afforded the opportunity to view them in competitive action at close quarters as they are set to play at Pairc Na h`Eireann in early July. That said, their will be opportuniies for Warwickshire to make its mark and build on last years promise.
Warwickshire`s warm up games are likely to consist of a challene game against a British Universities selection, the British Provincial Final against London`s second team and anything else the team mentors can organise. The other counties in the competition will have completed their National Hurling League fixtures and be involved in their own provincial competitions at various grades, Derry as seniors and Monaghan and Longford as juniors.
Warwickshire`s first game in the competition is set for Saturday June 10th against Monaghan at Pairc Na h`Eireann, with the time to be advised. Both counties were in the same group in 2005 and the match, played at a Monaghan venue, saw Warwickshire almost pinch a draw with a strong second half comeback. Given the 2005 result this is a game Warwickshire will target for an upset.
In their second tie, set for Saturday June 24th, Warwickshire will face Longford, another team they faced in 2005. The venue will be in Longford. After an early Warwickshire goal in last years match Longford came from behind and a strong 10 minutes either side of half time saw them secure victory, although another late goal for Warwickshire brought the deficit down to 4 points at the end of the game. I met the referee some weeks later at half time during an
All-Ireland qualifier in which he
was linesman and he was
very complementary about Warwickshire`s performance against Longford. It had been generally thought that Warwickshire were there to give the other teams in the group an easy outing but this had proved not to be the case.
Warwickshire`s final group match will be agaist favourites Derry. As recently as 6 years ago Derry were playing in Croke Park as Ulster Senior Champions and are likely to have a number of that squad still available.The match is set for Saturday July 8th at Pairc Na h`Eireann and will provide Warwickshire with their sternest test to date. It remains to be seen what the Monaghan team make of Derry`s presence in the group. They will be playing in the Ulster Junior Championship where they could meet Derry`s second team, however come the Rackard Cup they will be forced to take on their Senior team!
Anyway, enough griping at what looks like a lop-sided draw. Should Warwickshire reverse last years results against Monaghan and Longford they will finish second in the group, whatever happens against Derry. They would then meet the winners of a tie played between the second teams in Groups A & B, set for July 22nd and a win here would see them into the semi finals set for July 29th. Should they top the group they would go straight into the semi finals. Warwickshire have a realistic target for progress in the competition and we hope that their efforts receive their just rewards.