Last year's winners Greystones have been drawn against Junior club Barnhall in the first round of the Heineken Metropolitan Cup to be played on March 9th. Beaten finalists Blackrock College will come under close scrutiny from Garda.

The Junior 1 League is usually a good barometer of the relative strengths of the Metropolitan Cup contenders. In this respect, Greystones and Blackrock are making the pace again. In behind them, Bective Rangers, Lansdowne and St Mary's College are showing formidable form.