City of Derry welcome Strabane to Judges Road for big North West derby

City of Derry's promising start to the season which saw Neil Beddow's men record victories Lisburn and Letterkenny in their opening two fixtures has stalled in recent weeks after defeats to Academy and Randalstown. Injury and unavailability has played its part in a run that includes a 40-19 Junior Cup loss to Saturday's opponents who have enjoyed an almost perfect start to life in Ulster Rugby's second tier.

Neville Magee's rebuilt squad completed a superb league and cup double in 2025/26 by winning the Q3 title and the Gordon West Cup and have started 2026/27 intent on securing successive promotions with four straight wins, three with bonus points.

The flying start sees Strabane top of the Q2 table with 19 from a possible 20 points, seven ahead of the 'Green & Black' who sit fifth on 12 points, yet only three adrift of second placed Carrick whom they meet next weekend.

A pivotal fixture then for both clubs and one which is sure to attract a big crowd, with Beddow admitting he’s been impressed with the work going on at Strabane on and off the pitch.

"Strabane have been going very well, they're top of the table for a reason," explained the Derry Head Coach, "They’ve already played all the teams I would have expected to be up and around the top of the table, a run which culminates with ourselves on Saturday.

"They've had some good results against Carrick, CIYMS, away to Randalstown and Academy; they've really hit the ground running.

"There’s been huge investment in Strabane over the last year or two and, fair play, they're starting to see the rewards from that," he added, "I cannot fault them. They've stuck their colours to their mast and it’s really delivering rewards.

"I watched a bit of their cup game against Coleraine on Saturday and even though I didn't think they were at their best, they got the job done and got through to the next round of the cup which will give them more confidence ahead of this weekend."

Beddow hopes to welcome back Stephen Corr, Tiarnan Dillon, Johnny Sproule and Mark Scott after the quartet missed the defeat at Randalstown two weeks ago and he believes the arrival of the league leaders is a challenge his players must relish.

"The one result for us that still sticks this season is against Academy, the fact that we didn't get that across the line. We didn't deserve to win against Randalstown, they definitely delivered a more physical performance than us on the day which we struggled to cope with.

"It's two and two but we're now into a tough run of fixtures. Our next three league games are Strabane, Carrick and CI," he added, "These are the games you have to stand up and be counted in if you want to be around the top of the table. "The league itself is massively tight with four of us on 12 or 13 points. Again, if we get a result on Saturday it brings us right back into the picture around the top but if we don't then we could get cut into the middle and a gap appears to the top. "Strabane are in good form so it’s up to us to meet that challenge head on. It's a big occasion for both clubs."