NOEL KEOGH believes that if there is any justice in this world his Connacht women's team will be crowned Interprovincial champions on Sunday afternoon.
Not that the coach is making room on his mantlepiece just yet for the Stephen Doyle Memorial Cup, he still rates his team as the outsiders, but he feels his squad deserve some reward for the efforts they have put in to their preparations for this weekend's battle of the provinces.
"They have worked so hard and have given complete commitment. They trained through the Bank Holiday weekend last month, all day Sunday and again from nine o'clock on the Monday morning, in the most miserable conditions - and that was while everyone else was in bed," says Keogh whose other charges this season, Loreto, are currently top of the Leinster League.
Connacht's prospects of shaking off their traditional underdog tag have not been helped by a particularly unkind match schedule. They will hardly have had time to draw breath after tomorrow's meeting with defending champions Ulster when they will have to return to action against Leinster.
"Having those two matches back to back is very tough but it was a fait accompli, there were was nothing we could do about it. But we're looking forward to the matches and we're hopeful of troubling Ulster and Leinster. I think we can make life difficult for all our opponents, we won't be easily beaten," said Keogh who coached Leinster to three Interprovincial titles in his five years in charge.
Leinster's Irish international forward Jenny Burke is another who believes the days are gone when the big guns of the Interprovincial series could use Connacht for target practice. "I think in the past everyone thought `ah, Connacht, they're a push over', but not this year. It's probably the strongest squad they've ever had and I think they could be the surprise package at the weekend," said Burke.
With home advantage and the strongest possible squad available to him Fintan Butler's Leinster team are many people's favourites to make up for last year's defeat by Ulster and, regain the trophy they last won in 1994. The sheer quality of the Leinster attacking partnership of Burke and her fellow international Mary Logue should be enough to create a few sleepless nights for opposing defenders in the build up to the weekend's games.
The word "depleted" can hardly be applied to an Ulster squad that can still boast a string of current and former internationals but the loss of Kim Mills, Caroline Craig, Laura Brown and Karen Humphreys through injury and Claire Samways due to work commitments, as well as doubts over Julie Stewart's fitness, leaves Peter McCabe's team at least weakened, for the defence of their title.
Munster will open the weekend's programme of matches at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow when they take on Leinster. Only three of their 16 player squad come from outside the Harlequins and UCC camps but one of the trio is the vastly experienced Sarah Kelleher who returns from England, where she now plays for Slough, to help her province's bid to repeat their 1995 Interprovincial success.
