Three-in-a-row cup winners Notre Dame are cast in the role of possible king-makers this weekend, as they play the two main ESB Superleague contenders in less than 24 hours. Notre Dame's league form has been so inconsistent as to make it all but impossible to predict how they will perform at home to second-placed Waterford tomorrow night, before they make the journey north on Sunday to face keen rivals Star of the Sea. The close proximity of the two fixtures is really quite unfortunate, as the element of fatigue could play a major factor in Sunday's game in Belfast, especially if Notre Dame are given a close match, as expected, tomorrow evening.
Star have not lost on their home court at the Maysfield Centre in over two years, and the Belfast club are beginning to play with real authority again after a lapse in form in late January and early February. In contrast, Waterford have lost their last two league games by worryingly decisive margins, and defeat tomorrow could well precipitate the end of their plucky title challenge in only their second season playing at national level.
Meanwhile, St Vincent's, who meet Waterford next Wednesday, will be back in the hunt for the league should both Star and Waterford lose during this pivotal weekend. Rumbling beneath the absorbing title contest is another tussle for places in the national championship, formerly known as the top four. By expanding the championship, first from four to six teams and now up to eight, the IBA's national competitions committee has given mid-table clubs a real target to aim at right through the season and so remain competitive to the end.
If one result demonstrated this more than most, it was Marian's crushing defeat of Waterford last week which rekindled the Dublin club's hitherto dwindling hopes of making the top eight. Marian are ninth in the table and within striking range of the teams directly above them, Neptune and Limerick, who meet in Cork tomorrow. Neptune have had serious problems since the start of the year, losing four in a row during January. In last week's heavy defeat by struggling Dublin Bay Vikings, the 1997 champions could register a mere 23 points in the first half.
If Marian are to make the top eight, they will probably need to win at least two of their remaining three games and they can take a major step in the right direction if they win their home fixture against Dublin rivals Killester tomorrow. Running concurrently with the league programme over the weekend is the Volvic inter-varsities tournament at Belfield, where the hosts, UCD, are among the favourites to win the men's trophy as they have National League players Patrick Glover, Dave Donnelly and Eamon Gallagher in their squad. Their main rivals should be Jordanstown, who can draw on the services of two prominent Irish players, Trevor Smullen and Neville Charles. The University of Limerick, winners of the women's trophy in five of the last six years, will be favoured again.
