CHELSEA KEEP COOL TO EDGE INTO SEMIS
Limerick to face Tipperary in League opener
INTER-COUNTY action is set to return with a bang on Saturday, May 8 with a mouth-watering Allianz Hurling League clash between All-Ireland holders, and defending League champions, Limerick and Munster rivals Tipperary.
Sportsmail understands the fixture between the last two All-Ireland champions is set to take place at 5.30pm at LIT Gaelic Grounds as the GAA season starts up in earnest. It will be the first sighting of John Kiely’s champions since their emphatic 0-30 to 0-19 All-Ireland triumph over Waterford on December 13. With inter-county collective training allowed from next Monday, April 19, counties were open to a shortened three-week run-in to allow for regular six-team groups in Division 1. As the GAA prepares to release the full list of official fixtures soon, Divisions 1 and Divison 2 of the AHL will run from the weekend of May 8-9 to the weekend of June 12-13. Division 3 will run from the weekend of May 15-16 to the weekend of June 19-20. There will be no Division 1 quarter-finals, semi-finals, or final played. There will either be joint winners for 2021, or if the teams that win Division 1A and Division 1B meet in the Championship, this will double as a League final. That very scenario took place last year with Limerick beating Clare in the first round of Munster which doubled as the League final. The Division 1 relegation play-off will be played as curtain raiser to an All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final in August.