Wicklow off to Trim to defend their Under-21 hurling title

THE Wicklow Under-21 hurlers will look to get their defence of the All-Ireland Under-21 ‘B’ crown off to a winning start this weekend when they face Meath in Trim on Saturday.

Last year’s heroics were a wonderful high for the county with the sight of Gavin Weir climbing the steps in Semple Stadium after their victory over Meath something to behold and cherish for all Garden GAA fans.

But a new challenge now awaits and a new Wicklow team must enter the fray on Saturday evening although manager Jonathan O’Neill is likely to have 10 or 11 players from last year’s panel to draw from for this encounter with the Royal county.

“We’ll have seven from the starting team but we’ll have 10 or 11 from the panel so we hope to be quite strong still,” said the Glenealy and former Wicklow star.

Preparations for the clash have been hampered somewhat by the plethora of recent games in the various hurling championships but ‘Bosco’ believes that, while not ideal, the fact that his charges are playing competitive hurling will be a positive.

“To be truthful, preparations have not been going that well because the lads are committed to their clubs and they’ve played four or five clubs matches in recent weeks. Some have played two hurling matches in a week. For inter-county hurling that’s not ideal for preparations but in saying that, in hurling, playing matches is better than training,” he added.

The time of the game was not confirmed at the time of going to print. Wicklow were seeking a change from the original afternoon throw in time to an evening start. Check the Wicklow People Sport Facebook page for confirmation.