The fixtures
Tipperary v Wexford Saturday 3.30pm (Live on RTE 1)
Antrim v Carlow Saturday 5pm
Galway v Kilkenny Sunday 4pm (Live on RTE 2)
The Previews
Galway v Kilkenny
The last time that Galway beat Kilkenny in championship hurling was way back in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2005. On that remarkable day in Croke Park, the Tribesmen ended up the victors on an amazing scoreline of 5-18 – 4-18 in what is regarded as one of the greatest games of the modern era.
Galway went on to contest an All-Ireland final against Cork and since losing to the Rebels on that day, they haven’t been next or near another final appearance. Kilkenny, on the other hand, haven’t tasted a defeat in the championship since and against Dublin a fortnight ago, they extended their remarkable unbeaten run to 19 championship matches.
The meeting between these two sides had been particularly anticipated this year, as after Galway’s march to the League title, it was felt by many that they were best suited to give the Cats a serious run for their money this year. On the evidence of what we’ve seen in the championship so far, however, that wouldn’t seem to be case.
Galway have been really unconvincing in both outings against Offaly and earlier against Wexford but eventually plodded their way to a Leinster final. Joe Canning has yet to fire on all cylinders, Damien Hayes has blown hot and cold while their defence was put under serious pressure against an Offaly attack that, with all due respect to Joe Dooley’s men, is nothing compared to the quality in Brian Cody’s forward division.
Against Dublin, Kilkenny strolled to victory without ever getting out of second gear. All the cogs in the machine seemed to be functioning well, but even if that’s not the case on Sunday, Cody has a wealth of talent at his disposal on the bench to throw into the mix. Aidan Fogarty came on and plundered two goals the last day while two-time All-Stars Eoin Larkin and Derek Lyng were left twiddling their thumbs for the best part of an hour.
The bookies rarely get it wrong and the fact that Kilkenny are 4/5 to win the All-Ireland on the first weekend in July speaks volumes. Galway have the makings of a top class outfit but they will have their work cut out if they are going to cause an upset on Sunday.
David Burke misses out for Galway through suspension and Niall Healy is also out with a hamstring injury. Injury concerns over David Collins and Iarla Tannian means that John McIntrye will delay naming his side until the weekend.
Brian Cody has made on change to the fifteen that defeated Dublin, with Eoin Larkin coming in for Richie Hogan. Cody has made a number of positional switches in the forwards. In fact, none of the rest of the forwards who started against the Dubs will begin the match in the same position they started in that game.
Teams:
Galway: (to be announced)
Kilkenny: P.J. Ryan, John Dalton, Noel Hickey, Jackie Tyrell, Tommy Walsh, Brian Hogan, J.J. Delaney, Michael Rice, Michael Fennelly, T.J. Reid, Eddie Brennan, Eoin Larkin, Martin Comerford, Richard Power, Henry Shefflin
Odds:
Galway 9/4, Kilkenny 2/5, Draw 10/1
JOE Prediction:
Kilkenny to claim their sixth Leinster title on the trot with four points or more to spare.
Tipperary v Wexford
Last year’s All-Ireland finalists Tipperary were made to look very ordinary in their defeat to a resurgent Rebel side in their opening Munster outing and Liam Sheedy will have been glad of the month off to regroup and right the many wrongs of the last Sunday in May at Páirc Uà Chaoimh.
Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy will hope his charges can recover quickly from the defeat to Cork
There was always a danger that Tipperary would be suffering a hangover after going so close last year and that certainly seemed to be the case against Cork. The same excuses can’t be trotted out this time around, however and the qualifier against Wexford offers Sheedy the perfect opportunity to get this season back on track.
Had Tipp not been so ill-equipped to deal with the threat of Aisake Ó hAilpÃn, they would have ran Cork a lot closer and their side is still packed with quality performers, particularly down the spine of the team in the shape of, Padraic Maher, Conor O’Mahony, Shane McGrath, Seamus Callanan and Eoin Kelly.
Wexford gave Galway a bit of a fright in Leinster, but the gulf in class between the team in Division One and the team in Division Two was there for all to see. The Model County will be plying their trade in the top tier next season and it will do Colm Bonnar’s men the world of good. Considering they have to travel to Thurles, the step up in class might be too much for them on Saturday afternoon.
Colm Bonnar has made four changes to the side that lost to Galway with Tomas Waters, Paul Roche, David Redmond and Tomas Mahon replacing Lar Prendergast, Malachy Travers, Mick Jacob and the suspended Diarmuid Lyng.
Liam Sheedy has also made four changes to the side that lost heavily to Cork in their Munster Championship opener. David Young, Patrick Maher and Gearóid Ryan will start a championship game for the first time while Conor O’Brien also comes into the side at corner back. Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran (both injured), Brian O’Meara (suspended) and John O’Brien are the ones to lose out.
Teams:
Tipperary: B Cummins; M Cahill, D Fanning, C O’Brien; D Young, C O’Mahony, Padraic Maher; B Maher, S McGrath; G Ryan, S Callanan, Patrick Maher; N McGrath, L Corbett, E Kelly.
Wexford: N Carton; P Roche, K Rossiter, C Kenny; R Kehoe, D Stamp, D Redmond; C Farrell, H Kehoe; P Atkinson, T Waters, E Quigley; R Jacob, S Banville, T Mahon.
Odds:
Tipperary 1/14, Wexford 15/2, Draw 16/1
JOE Prediction:
Tipperary to get their season back on track with a comfortable home win.
Antrim v Carlow
Carlow hurling has come on in leaps and bounds in recent times and having won the last two Christy Ring titles they took a further step in their development with a fine win over Laois last weekend. Antrim romped to a 19 point victory over Down to claim their ninth Ulster title on the trot at the weekend and as they showed against Offaly earlier in the year, are an established side that, on their day, are well able to mix it with the bigger boys.
Teams:
Antrim: (to be announced)
Carlow: (to be announced)
Odds:
Antrim 1/3, Carlow 5/2, Draw 11/1
JOE Prediction:
With home advantage, it should be a relatively comfortable outing for Antrim.
