Revamped Senior League set to get underway with Armagh coach Chris Parker looking to make winning start at Rainey

The highest eight finishing clubs from last season’s All Ireland League have been split into two sections – Ulster Premiership Division One Group A and Group B.

Queen’s kicked off the new campaign in Group A with 57-26 over Banbridge at the Dub on Thursday night while defending champions Ballynahinch host Dungannon this afternoon.

Group B contains Armagh, Ballymena, Malone and Rainey with the top team in each group facing a play-off to decide the winner of the Stevenson Shield.

There is also a play-off between the two bottom teams with the loser dropping out of the draw for the Senior Cup quarter finals to be replaced by the side that finishes top of Division Two.

The five teams outside the top eight will contest the Senior Shield.

Armagh, who were last crowned Senior League champions in 2018, start the new campaign by travelling to Rainey with coach Chris Parker expecting a stern test in Magherafelt

“We are just excited to get back into the competitive games again,” he said. “I think the boys have had a long enough slog with pre-season and they are just glad to see some rugby on a Saturday afternoon.

“The Senior League sort of dictates itself at this time of the year.

"Guys are booking holidays later than normal, they are away that bit later, you still have the cricket season and things are going on so it will be rotation and guys will get opportunities, minutes and chances to put their hands up for the start of the AIL campaign.

“We certainly appear to be a couple of steps ahead of where we were last year from what we have seen in training.

“We had a good hit out with Dungannon last Saturday, but it is very much trying to lay the foundations for what we want to see when we get to the AIL.

“We have got focus coming into this week and hopefully we’ll see that come through against Rainey and then we’ll take each week and have a different focus and keep building those layers as well as we can.

“Rainey is never the easiest place to go and they are always very uncompromising and always make life difficult for you.

“It is a great challenge for us, and they will certainly test us around the set piece and challenge us in different ways than we wouldn’t have been used to in 1B.”

Under the new league structure, some teams may only get three games to prepare for the AIL which starts on the first weekend of October.

“It is not much of a run in which makes it so important that you get what you can out of these matches and you really see it as an opportunity and the players see it as an opportunity to put their hands up and lay claim for the shirt,” added Parker. “We are just looking forward to getting back into the rugby and trying to get the bodies right and keep ourselves moving forward.”

Malone will host Ballymena while in Division Two, Clogher Valley travel to Bangor, who have included former Ulster star Craig Gilroy in their starting line-up, for their first ever game in senior rugby.

The Belfast derby between Harlequins and Instonians has been called off while Omagh have a bye week.