March championship start

County hurlers may throw spanner in the works yet

ALL ADULT football clubs in Wexford are gearing up to start the domestic championships on the last weekend of March - but the county Senior hurlers could yet throw a spanner in the works.

One of the knock-on effects of the vile weather was the postponement of the complete Allianz League programme, and this has resulted in the hurling final, which was scheduled for March 24, being put back to the following weekend.

And with Wexford already guaranteed a quarter-final spot on March 18, and holding their own in the top flight, it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that the county might have a direct involvement in that decider.

That would be a nice problem to have for the fixtures-makers, but it would mean that the plans to play four rounds of local championship, two football and two hurling, before the end of April would be thwarted at the first hurdle.

If the hurlers don’t make the league final, it will be all systems go for that complete football programme from Friday, March 30, to Sunday, April 1.

However, the postponement of the entire first round All-County League schedule last weekend will mean that the clubs will get just one decent preparatory match beforehand.

The next two weekends are designated to the All-County Hurling League, while round one games in the new Under-20 hurling championship will also be played on Bank Holiday Monday, March 19.

March 24 and 25 is an All-County Football League weekend, followed by those championship games if the county hurlers are defeated in either the quarter-final or semi-final.

The round two football championship fixtures, for the following weekend (April 6-8), have also been released.

Then the focus will turn to the hurling championship, with two rounds pencilled in for April 13-15 and April 20-22.

The second round Under-20 hurling games are set to be played on Wednesday, April 28, and it will be All-County Leagues only throughout May when the inter-county action is in full swing.

Round one of another new championship, Under-17 football, was also called off in its entirety on Sunday, but it is hoped to play games this coming Sunday, March 11.

The Under-17 hurling will start on Sunday, March 25, with round two on Bank Holiday Monday, April 2.

A round of football is planned for April 9, with hurling seven days later and more Under-17 action (with the grade unspecified on the master fixtures plan) on April 23.

On the inter-county scene, Wexford will now play Offaly in football this Sunday, with the Derry game moved to March 18.