Lift-off for Senior Cup

The Sharwood's Irish Senior Cup, which has been extended to include 32 teams this season, gets under way tomorrow with 16 clubs competing in the first round. The eight winners will be joined by Coleraine, Yeats County, Pembroke Wanderers, NUI Galway, Corinthian, Randalstown, Knock and Belfast Harlequins in the second round which will be played next month.

This season's seeded teams, Leinster and Ulster's top three - Hermes, Loreto, Old Alexandra, Pegasus, Portadown and holders Ballymoney - and Munster's top two - Cork Harlequins and the University of Limerick - will enter the competition in February's third round.

There are two all-Leinster first-round ties with UCD and Genesis, both of whom are unbeaten in the league so far this season, meeting in Belfield and Glenanne and Trinity paired in Tallaght.

Railway Union travel north to newly-promoted Ballymena, currently joint second in Section One, who will be making their first appearance in the Irish Senior Cup.

Church of Ireland and Waterford meet in the round's only all-Munster tie, while North Down play Ballyclare and Enniskillen face Victorians in the two all-Ulster affairs. UCC host Galway at the Mardyke with Bandon landed with the longest round-trip of the weekend - they travel to Ards.

There are just three Leinster first division ties this weekend with Old Alexandra and Loreto, who have dropped five points from their last two games, eager to get their league challenges back on track.

Loreto should do just that at home to bottom club Glenanne on Sunday but Alexandra face a significantly trickier task, taking on Pembroke Wanders at Serpentine Avenue. Hermes, meanwhile, come up against Corinthian and their former coach Roy Horsfield at Belfield.