Ireland: Championship Weekend Preview

Gaelic Gridiron | American Football | 07/24/2024

By Jimmy English

Well, boys and girls… it all comes down to this! On Saturday July 27th, the American Football Ireland national championships take place in Dubarry Park, Athlone and there are two cracking games in store! The doubleheader event will see Craigavon and the Rhinos go head to head in the Harp Bowl, followed closely by UCD and the Rebels round three. The latter is without a doubt the main event, and is in fact the 3rd Shamrock Bowl in a row to be contested by these two teams. And while the outcome of the first match should be relatively straightforward (but you never really know in this league), the main event is going to be an absolute doozy.

Keep reading for our in depth preview of the Bowl games, and we’ll see you in Athlone next Saturday!

Shamrock Bowl: Dublin Rebels Vs UCD

Absolutely nothing separated these sides during the regular season. They truly are the top dogs in Ireland, and this upcoming clash has the feel of a heavyweight trilogy conclusion. “Rebels Vs UCD III: Rumble in the Midlands” or something much catchier. The students had the upper hand in Belfast back in 2022, claiming victory with a convincing score line of 52-24. The Rebels then had their revenge in Cork last year, just doing enough to hold on for the win. This third installment is for all the marbles, and ultimate bragging rights as the best team in the country. Both teams certainly have the weapons to put on a show: Ty Henry and Arun Mooney are by far the top signal callers in the league, and they’re armed with an explosive array of playmakers. Greg Johnson and Tom Donovan are just two examples of that – scoring points for fun all summer long. Sitting at 7-1 on the year respectively with their only loss coming against each other, it’s virtually impossible to predict the result of this one. In the season opener, it ended up being a case of who had the ball last. And that could well be the deciding factor this time around as well. UCD looked rusty against the Trojans in Belfast after their exam break, but silenced any doubts with back to back 60 point performances in their next two games. They then shut out the Trojans in the playoffs, leaving no questions about their right to be in the final. Ty Henry and Co. are going to have a dogfight on their hands in Dubarry Park and will need to dig deep if they want to emerge as back-to-back Shamrock Bowl Champions.

Harp Bowl: Craigavon Cowboys Vs West Dublin Rhinos

The men in Orange absolutely dominated in Division One this season, brushing aside almost every team that got in their way as they had their sights firmly set on getting back into the top flight. All that remains in front of them now is another tilt with the Rhinos. Despite a generally underwhelming season, the Castleknock based outfit won when it counted – knocking off a strong Wexford side and stunning the Mavericks in the semi final. David Hosfords side have shown true grit, but the last time the teams met it did not end well for them. 46-3 was the final score on that occasion, and even with their sexy new black threads, the Rhinos will need to pull off something special if they want to be lifting their second Division One trophy next Saturday. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I just don’t think they’ll be able to stop the firepower of Loughran to O’Kane, or produce enough points to match what will be thrown at them. Here’s a fun fact to finish up: this is the first D1 final for the Rhinos since they triumphed back in 2018. That game was also against the Cowboys, and yours truly was still playing kitted football for the victors! You can’t make a prediction in this league any more without pissing someone off, but I think we all know how this one is going to turn out.