Graham Quincey's Ulster squad head for Galway this weekend hoping to maintain the province's remarkable record in the Under-21 Interprovincial Tournament, which they have won for the past 13 years.
Last year a strong Leinster side looked a good bet to end that winning sequence when they hosted the tournament at Grange Road but Ulster cruised to one of their most emphatic under-21 victories, winning all four of their games without conceding a goal.
Nine of last year's panel have been selected again by Quincey, including Jill Orbinson who made such an impression at the Senior Interprovincial Tournament in Cork last November - one that earned her a senior Irish call-up.
Amongst the seven newcomers in the squad is the Czech Republic international Klara Poloprutska who joined Ballymoney this season. The 19-year-old, who played against the Irish under-21 and senior teams in European competition last year (scoring in penalty shoot-outs after both games), is the first overseas player to be selected for Ulster at this level.
Leinster coach Grainne Friel's squad includes just six of last year's panel - it would have been seven but for the loss of captain and Irish under-21 sweeper Sarah Rand (Trinity) who broke her collar bone in a practice match last week.
Rand is replaced by Anne Marie Cullen of Genesis in a squad that includes Loreto forward Cathy McKean who will be playing in her second interprovincial tournament of the season, after scoring twice for the senior Leinster side in Cork.
Munster finished runners-up to Ulster last year, winning three of their four games, and Val Shannon has seven of that squad available to her this year, including the UCC quartet of Nan Kearney, Aoife McCarthy, Lisa Ryan and EJ Walsh.
Hermes' Caitriona Carey, who was promoted to the senior Irish panel this season, captains an inexperienced South East squad, while Orla McGuinness, one of six NUI Galway players in the Connacht 16, captains the hosts.
On the international front Lynsey McVicker has been invited to attend the senior squad's next training weekend (February 13th-14th in Belfast), 18 months since winning her 38th cap for Ireland in Zimbabwe. The former Portadown forward recently completed a hockey scholarship at the University of Philadelphia and returned home to take up the post of player-coach at Ballymoney.
Connacht: M L Daly, O McGuinness, O Canavan, M Clesham, L Codd, O Cunningham, C Hughes, M McDonald, C Moore, E Newell, K O'Toole, E Ryan, O Ryan, P Ryan, C Walsh, S Walsh. Coach: Donal Dempsey.
Leinster: A Copeland, E Ryan, R Brophy, A Budd, D Henderson, O Howe, D Kelly, V Kelly, K Little, A McCormack, C McKean, H Maguire, C O'Brien, R O'Reilly, J Osborne, A M Cullen. Coach: Grainne Friel.
Munster: M Boland, C Ronan, E Bromell, A Carey, H Chapple, O Curtin, J Dillon, S Dwyer, E Higgins, N Kearney, R Kingston, J Lawson, A McCarthy, E O'Sullivan, L Ryan, E J Walsh. Coach: Val Shannon.
South-East: S A Quilty, P Farragher, A Barrett, C Carey, L Caulfield, R Hendy, S Larkin, S Lyttleton, S McCarthy, I McDonald, E Murphy, M Murphy, M Murphy, F Roddy, L Smyth, D Wilson. Coach: Catherine Bird.
Ulster: A Platt, P Smyth, K Alexander, S Beaney, L Burns, H Cathcart, L Feeney, F Ferguson, P Magill, K Maybin, J Orbinson, P Orr, C Parkhill, K Poloprutska, L Russell, Y Steele. Coach: Graham Quincey.
