CRUNCH WEEKEND
Galway and Wicklow dates disclosed
THE WEEKEND of October 31 and November 1 has been pencilled into the calendars of Wexford supporters after plans for the newlook inter-county competitions, unveiled on Friday, were quickly followed by a re-drawing of the Leinster Senior hurling championship.
And it produced a repeat of the Allianz Hurling League quarter-final that never was, with Wexford and Galway drawn out of the bowl live on RTE by the provincial council Chairman, Pat Teehan from Offaly.
The game is due to go ahead on October 31 or November 1, along with the second semi-final featuring Kilkenny against the winners from the Laois and Dublin clash one week before.
And on that same weekend, the Wexford Senior footballers will take on Wicklow in a straight knockout Leinster championship quarter-final, with the victors advancing to play Meath one week later.
Paul Galvin’s team will only have one opportunity to advance, as the All-Ireland qualifiers – in place since 2001 – have been scrapped owing to time constraints.
In contrast, there will be a second chance for the hurlers if required. The winners from those semi-finals on October 31 or November 1 will meet in the Leinster decider a fortnight later.
One week before that, the All-Ireland qualifiers will begin, with two games featuring Leinster v. Munster pairings and involving four of the six teams that do not make it to provincial finals.
In a worst case scenario, if Wexford lose to Galway, they would feature in either round one or two of those qualifiers which are down for decision on November 7-8 and November 14-15.
In the event of a Leinster final defeat, they would contest an All-Ireland quarter-final on November 21-22.
In a best case scenario, if the hurlers were to enjoy a winning streak, they would be in action on October 31-November 1 (Galway), November 14-15 (Kilkenny, Laois or Dublin), November 28 (All-Ireland semi-final), and December 13 (All-Ireland final).
One notable casualty of the new arrangements is the knockout stages of the Allianz League.
The quarter-finals, where Wexford were set to meet Galway just a few days after lockdown, have been scrapped, but it was agreed that should the table-toppers in Divisions 1A and 1B, Limerick and Clare, meet in the championship, then the game would double up as the league final.
Conveniently, the neighbouring counties were duly drawn to clash on October 24-25 in a Munster quarter-final that will get the championship series under way with a bang.
It was also announced that the ‘finish on the day’ format, involving extra-time and penalties if required, will be introduced in all inter-county knockout games, including the All-Ireland finals at all levels.
Two ten-minute periods of extra-time will be played and, if still level, the teams will then proceed straight to penalties.
The Tailteann Cup, second tier football competition, has been postponed until 2021 but, in order to determine its participants, the inter-county action will return with rounds six and seven of the Allianz Leagues on the weekends of October 17-18 and 24-25.
Wexford’s two remaining matches are away to Limerick, originally fixed for Rathkeale, and home to Wicklow, although it remains to be seen if the Leinster neighbours will have a difficulty playing this match on the week prior to their championship meeting.
There will be no Allianz League Division 4 final, with the team finishing top after the seven rounds deemed the winner.
At the moment, Limerick lead the way on eight points, followed by Antrim (seven), Wexford, Wicklow and Sligo (six), Carlow (four), Waterford (three) and London (zero).
There will be an Under-20 hurling championship, played concurrently with the Senior equivalent, but without All-Ireland semi-finals.
Last year the beaten provincial finalists criss-crossed to play the winners, but this time around the two victors will simply meet in the All-Ireland final, while the losers will be out.
Minor hurling and football championships will also take place, on a straight knockout basis, but the All-Ireland series will not be played alongside its Senior equivalent.
The All-Ireland quarter-finals have also been scrapped and, should Wexford retain their Leinster Minor hurling title, they will proceed directly to the All-Ireland final as just one semi-final will be played. The draw, made in advance, will see Galway playing the Munster champions.
KEY DATES
October 17 (week 42) – Eirgrid All-Ireland
U20FC semi-finals.
October 17-18 (week 42) – Allianz Football League round six (Wexford away to Limerick); Allianz Hurling League Roinn 2A, 2B and 3B finals.
October 24 (week 43) – Eirgrid All-Ireland U20FC final.
October 24-25 (week 43) – Allianz Football League round seven (Wexford home to Wicklow); Leinster SHC quarter-final: Laois v. Dublin; Munster SHC quarter-final: Clare v. Limerick (doubles up as Allianz HL Division 1 final); Christy Ring and Nickey Rackard Cup quarter-finals; Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher Cup round one.
October 31-November 1 (week 44) – Leinster SHC semi-finals: Galway v. Wexford; Kilkenny v.
Laois or Dublin; Munster SHC semi-finals: Cork v. Waterford; Tipperary v. Clare or Limerick; Leinster SFC first round: Wexford v. Wicklow; Carlow v. Offaly; Louth v. Longford; Munster SFC quarter-finals: Waterford v. Limerick; Tipperary v. Clare; Connacht SFC quarter-finals: London v. Roscommon; Mayo v. Leitrim; Ulster SFC first round: Cavan v. Monaghan; Ulster SFC quarter-finals (or November 7-8): Donegal v. Tyrone; Derry v. Armagh; Fermanagh v. Down; Christy Ring and Nickey Rackard Cup semi-finals and relegation semi-finals; Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher Cup round two.
November 7-8 (week 45) – All-Ireland SHC round one qualifiers; Leinster SFC quarter-finals: Wexford or Wicklow v. Meath; Carlow or Offaly v. Kildare; Louth or Longford v. Laois; Westmeath v. Dublin; Munster SFC semi-finals: Waterford or Limerick v. Tipperary or Clare; Cork v. Kerry; Connacht SFC semi-finals: Galway v. Sligo; London or Roscommon v. Mayo or Leitrim; Ulster SFC quarter-final: Antrim v. Cavan or Monaghan; Joe McDonagh Cup round three (one game) Christy Ring and Nickey Rackard Cup relegation finals; Lory Meagher Cup round three.
November 14-15 (week 46) – Leinster SHC final; Munster SHC final; All-Ireland SHC round two qualifiers (two games); Leinster SFC semi-finals: Wexford, Wicklow or Meath v. Carlow, Offaly or Kildare; Longford, Louth or Laois v. Westmeath or Dublin; Connacht SFC final; Ulster SFC semi-finals: Donegal or Tyrone v. Derry or Armagh; Fermanagh or Down v. Antrim, Cavan or Monaghan; Joe McDonagh Cup round three (one game) Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup finals.
November 21-22 (week 47) – All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals (two games).
November 21 (week 47) – Leinster SFC final; Bloody Sunday commemoration; Joe McDonagh Cup round four.
November 22 (week 47) – Munster SFC final; Ulster SFC final; Bord Gáis Energy All-Ireland U20HC final.
November 28-29 (week 48) – All-Ireland SHC semi-finals (Leinster v. quarter-final winner, Saturday; Munster v. quarter-final winner, Sunday); Joe McDonagh Cup round five (Saturday); All-Ireland Minor hurling and football semi-finals (both days).
December 5-6 (week 49) – All-Ireland SFC semi-finals (Leinster v. Ulster, Saturday; Connacht v. Munster, Sunday); All-Ireland Minor hurling and football finals.
December 13 (week 50) – All-Ireland SHC final; Joe McDonagh Cup final.
December 19 (week 51) – All-Ireland SFC final. All-Ireland SHC qualifiers: The six teams that do not make provincial finals go into the qualifier draw, with the first four drawn meeting in round one (November 7-8). This must include both defeated provincial quarter-finals. Two Leinster teams will face two Munster teams. One Munster and one Leinster team will receive a bye.
Round two (November 14-15) – Round one winners plus round one byes drawn into two fixtures, with repeat pairings avoided where possible.