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Cork's Eoin Cadogan and Waterford's John Mullane clashing in the 2010 Munster senior hurling final replay. INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Fixtures

Cork paired with Waterford as Cody's Cats face Limerick in hurling quarter-final draw

The draw has been made for this year’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final ties.

WATERFORD WILL CLASH with Cork while Kilkenny are set to face Limerick in the wake of this morning’s draw for this year’s All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-finals.

The draw, which was conducted on RTE Radio’s Morning Ireland programme by GAA Director-General Padraic Duffy and GAA Operations Manager Fergal McGill, saw the Rebels pitted against Michael Ryan’s Déise outfit while Brian Cody’s Kilkenny must meet Limerick in a double-header that is likely to be played in Semple Stadium on Sunday week, July 29th. The CCCC will convene this afternoon to confirm the dates, times and venues for the two games.

This morning’s draw has also set out the draw for the All-Ireland semi-final ties.

July 29th: All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals: Waterford v Cork; Kilkenny v Limerick.
August 12th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Galway v Waterford/Cork.
August 19th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Tipperary v Kilkenny/Limerick.

Here’s a breakdown of the two quarter-final ties.

Waterford v Cork

It’s a draw that will please Cork because they have avoided running into the expected backlash from Kilkenny and are now on the opposite side of the draw from Tipperary as well. Jimmy Barry-Murphy will have happy memories from the last time the counties clashed as his team claimed a decisive victory in the opening round of the league in Páirc Uí Rinn in March. Since then they have showed genuine promise against Tipperary in the Munster championship but anxieties have crept into their performances in recent weeks despite achieving qualifier successes against Offaly and Wexford.

Waterford must attempt to pick themselves up from the Munster final defeat to Tipperary yesterday but will be heartened by the fact that they are facing a Cork team who have not defeated them in the last five senior championship clashes between the counties. Of more pressing concern to manager Michael Ryan will be that the sizable contingent of U21 players on his senior panel will emerge unscathed from their Munster semi-final against Clare this Thursday evening. Both counties are likely to fancy their chances of triumphing and whoever does will enter the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway on August 12th on the back of a rousing victory in what is a repeat of the 2010 Munster senior decider.

Limerick v Kilkenny

The short straw was drawn by Limerick. Not only must they collide with a Kilkenny team smarting from their Leinster final reversal and likely to be hugely motivated as consequence but if John Allen’s men do manage to triumph in that game, they must then tackle Tipperary in an All-Ireland semi-final tie. If the Shannonsiders are to claim All-Ireland honors this year, then defeating the two counties who have won the seven All-Ireland’s between them and met in the last three All-Ireland finals, is certainly an arduous task.

In what is the counties first championship meeting since the 2007 All-Ireland final when Kilkenny had seven points to spare at the final whistle, Limerick will be emboldened following Saturday’s excellent qualifier triumph against Clare where they showcased the range of young attacking talent available to them. In the wake of their loss to Galway that sent tremors reverberating throughout the entire championship, all eyes will be on Kilkenny to see what type of response they now produce in their next encounter. The potential for tactical and personnel changes by Brian Cody adds another layer of fascination. For John Allen, the former Cork boss who saw his team lose the 2006 All-Ireland final, this game offers another chance to pit himself against the greatest manager the sport has ever known.

What we learned from the weekend’s hurling

As it happened: Tipperary v Waterford, Munster SHC Final

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