Connacht Senior Cup:Formerly, the Connacht schools cup was a two- or three-horse race but now close on 50 schools are in the hat when the draw is made.

But, like most provinces, there is a handful of front-runners who emerge from the pack and next Thursday two of them will clash in the quarter-final.

Coláiste Iognáid, who have had recent senior cup medal winner Danny Riordan called into the Irish Six Nations training squad, are bidding for their third provincial title in a row.

But on Thursday at the Sportsground they face Garbally College whose success in Connacht is only surpassed in Irish schools rugby by Blackrock College.

The winners will be red-hot favourites to claim the title in March but whichever of them advances will be aware Sligo Grammar pose the biggest threat.

Coláiste Iognáid are holders for the past two years and have 11 survivors from last year, including Shane Conneely, Fergus Moyles, Dermot Murphy, Kevin Russell and Cian Moyles. But Garbally will start as favourites, having defeated the cup holders on their way to retaining the league crown.

Garbally have 15 squad members back from last year, including captain Barry Gibbons, Robert O'Beirne of the Connacht Under-20s, and Connacht schools skipper John O'Brien.

The biggest threat to the winners of this clash will come from Sligo Grammar who have contested six of the last eight finals. They were victorious in 1999, 2000 and 2003. But they have had bad luck since, losing to St Saran's, Ferbane (now Gallen Community School) in 2004 and in the past two years to Coláiste Iognáid. Grammar are expected to make another final.

Calasanctius College (Oranmore) meet Marist, Athlone, or Summerhill, Sligo, in a quarter-final with the winners facing Sligo Grammar or Gallen.

St Joseph's will be hoping to rediscover former glory when they meet Clifden Community School but with the victors going on to meet the winners of Coláiste Iognáid/Garbally, neither is likely to make the final at the Sportsground on March 16th.

Connacht Senior Cup

Quarter-finals- Thur, Feb 1st: Clifden CS v St Joseph's, Galway, Monastery Field, Clifton, time TBC. Thur, Feb 1st: Coláiste Iognáid v Garbally College, Sportsground, 2.30pm. TBC: Gallen CS v Sligo Grammar School. TBC: Marist, Athlone/Summerhill, Sligo v Calasanctius, Oranmore.

Semi-finals- Week of February 12th.

Final- March 16th: Sportsground, Galway.