Who will seize the chance created by Oulart’s absence?
WHEN Oulart-The Ballagh last departed unexpectedly from the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship - in a 2014 quarter-final loss to Glynn-Barntown - the remaining contenders all realised that a better chance would never arise to claim the title.
Shelmaliers seized the opportunity on that occasion, beating St. Anne’s in the final after a replay, and there’s a similar feel to this year’s knockout phase which begins this coming weekend.
Fair enough, Oulart-The Ballagh weren’t the defending champions this time around and their star has been on the wane for a while, but their recent tradition and experience always made them formidable opponents and extremely difficult to beat.
And although titleholders St. Martin’s still look a shade better than anyone else, wouldn’t it be great - from a neutral point of view anyway - to see a team like Naomh Eanna, Rapparees or Oylegate-Glenbrien at least getting to a final?
The reigning champions will start proceedings at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the main county ground against Ferns St. Aidan’s.
Their paths haven’t crossed a great deal in recent times. Indeed, their last knockout game was a 2-14 to 3-10 quarter-final win for St. Martin’s ten years ago, and they’ve only met once in the past sive seasons - in 2017, when Ferns lost a group game by seven points.
If Rory Kinsella, Joe Morris and their fellow mentors could get the underdogs to produce that magical last 15 minutes against Glynn-Barntown for a full hour, they would be a match for anyone.
Ferns demand respect, with a record of being runners-up in 2013 and semi-finalists in 2014 and 2016. After surviving last year’s relegation decider, their joy at avoiding a similar fate this time around was understandable.
Still, it’s hard to look beyond St. Martin’s for this one, given their reserves of talent and the fact that Rory O’Connor should be able to feature for the full hour. It will be a shock if they’re defeated.
Rapparees and Rathnure meet on Saturday (5.30 p.m.) for the second year running at the quarter-final stage, after the town team’s 1-25 to 2-15 victory twelve months ago.
They also romped home in a group game by 16 points in 2015, and they are going about their business in a manner that suggests a first county final appearance in 17 years isn’t beyond them.
Rathnure have lost three quarter-finals since last reaching the penultimate round in 2012, as well as surviving a relegation decider against Shamrocks by one point in 2015.
The savage pride in the black and amber jersey will make them hell-bent on turning the tables on the Rapps, but I still think the Enniscorthy men will prevail.
First up at 2 p.m. Sunday will be Shelmaliers and Oylegate-Glenbrien, with the latter winning by 2-16 to 1-11 when they last played in the group stage in 2017.
The Shels have lost two quarter-finals since their title triumph in 2014, but they won the clubs’ previous meeting before last season in 2013 by 6-14 to 2-13.
After winning the Intermediate title in 2016, three years after being relegated, Oylegate-Glenbrien have done exceptionally well to qualify for the quarter-finals after just three rounds both last season and this time around.
They may have lost some momentum by virtue of losing their last two games, but this is a big opportunity to make a massive leap.
One thing they will need to avoid is the concession of frees, because young Ross Banville is deadly from all angles and distances for the Shels who are equally capable of winning this one.
Finally, at 3.30 p.m., Naomh Eanna will seek a second successive semi-final spot when they take on St. Anne’s. The Gorey side have come a long way in a short space of time, winning the Intermediate ‘A’ and Intermediate titles in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
St. Anne’s suffered the pain of relegation in 2016, just two years after contesting a final, but they bounced back immediately. They will be underdogs here though, and Naomh Eanna are my fancy.
As for Saturday’s relegation decider between Buffers Alley and Glynn-Barntown in Bellefield (5.30 p.m.), it’s a toss-up. Glynn-Barntown have won four of their six meetings since 2012, including three by one point. I reckon this one will go down to the wire too.