HURLING PREVIEWS
TODAY WALSH CUP SH FINAL
GALWAY v WEXFORD MW Hire O’Moore Park, 4pm Referee: M Murtagh
Galway scraped past Dublin in the semi-final without needing to call on Joe Canning and, given the manner in which Wexford steamrolled Kilkenny last weekend, it’s bound to be all hands on deck today. Nine different scorers shows the hard yards already put in by Davy Fitzgerald’s squad and their ability to attack from all angles.
VERDICT: Wexford
AIB ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CLUB HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
FR O’NEILL’S (CORK) v TULLAROAN (KILKENNY) Croke Park, 6pm (TG4 YouTube) Referee: T Walsh (Waterford)
From a point where they needed extra time to get past Blackrock in the first round of Munster to squeezing past Toreen in the All-Ireland semi-final, there have been times when it looks like the name of Fr O’Neill’s might be written on the cup. But the Walsh clan have been at the heart of the Tullaroan story and provide serious quality.
VERDICT: Tullaroan
AIB ALL-IRELAND JUNIOR CLUB HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
RUSSELL ROVERS (CORK) V CONAHY SHAMROCKS (KILKENNY) Croke Park, 6pm (TG4 YouTube)
Referee: S Stack (Dublin) A senior club championship of just 12 teams means that there is no fat either in terms of quality at intermediate or junior level, a good reason why Kilkenny teams have had such a decent strike rate in the various competitions. Another Cork-Kilkenny clash that might swing the way of the latter, especially with James Bergin in such freescoring form.
VERDICT: Conahy Shamrocks