Paul Reynolds is taking a much deserved couple of weeks holiday break. Alternative arrangements have been put in place to keep results, league tables and cup competitions up to date. But for this to work properly we need the assistance of clubs and especially captains.
There is no change in the general regulations and scoresheets / umpires reports should be submitted in the normal manner. We would ask, however, that if you are looking at the website and see that your match is not up please send in the result by text message to the following number: 087 278 0309. This will enable me to keep the tables reasonably up to date.
There were a number of games called off yesterday so I will commence with a series of updates on leagues based around the 1st August benchmark - the last general progress update before the end of the season.
The positions in the Russell Court Division 1 and 2 leagues have previously been reported and with no games over the weekend are unchanged. In brief summary:
In RCD2 the position of Merrion at the top of the table is even more secure than that of Clontarf in RCD1. Ninety-four points ahead of their nearest rival Malahide [DU who are second have completed their programme of matches] and with only five rounds to play - it will take a major implosion of form on their part and near perfect results from their only challenger to stop them. The intensity of competition at the foot of the table has been lessened of late as the practice has been established that 2nd XIs of clubs decline promotion. Of course this could change so no team will want to be at the bottom of the table come the end of the season. As things stand there are five teams within a couple of wins of each other so there is plenty to play for. Rush are currently in last place but they are within 25 points of Balbriggan, Railway Union and North Kildare.
There are quite a few re-fixes in Division 3 and outstanding results from the weekend so I will go on to report on Divisions 4 and 5.
Merrion III are unbeaten with seven wins and a No Result at the top of the Table. At 94.66% they have the highest percentage of any team in the OC and one of only three [excluding the top two Divisions which are decided on points scored] with a percentage of over 90%. North County are their nearest rivals and they are due to play each other at Anglesea Road on 9th September. Pressure is mainly on NC to ensure that they are in a position to make this a league decider. At the other end of the table Phoenix III and Civil Service are in most danger but they could draw Railway Union II or even Dundrum into a relegation battle. Civil Service and Phoenix meet on 12th August and the loser of that will have a tough job surviving.
Division 5 have a lot of matches to be refixed but the position at the top of the table is pretty clear with Longford with 8/8 unbeaten on 88%. Their nearest rivals Clontarf III are 16 percentage points behind - a lot to make up in the remaining matches, especially as the two sides have already met twice this year. At the other end of the table Leinster III are without a win and are one of two teams [the other being Dublin University III] with a negative percentage following the application of penalty points. Merrion IV won an important game over the weekend v rivals Adamstown. This makes it more likely that the battle to avoid the second relegation spot will be between Greystones and Adamstown. Given the number of re-fixes, however, there is still a lot to play for and a bad run of form by any but the top couple of sides in the league could spell danger.