Updated 12.05pm
THE ALL-IRELAND senior hurling qualifier race will kickstart into action after the draw takes place next Monday on ‘Morning Ireland’ on RTÉ Radio 1.
There’d been a few tweaks to the qualifier system this year but how’s it all going to work out before the first round of games start on 4 July?
Let us do the explaining for you.
Who’s already in the qualifiers?
Cork and Clare are already heading to the backdoor after losing out in Munster along with Dublin, Westmeath and Offaly who have bowed out of the Leinster race.
Who else will join them?
We’ll know the remaining three teams after the games this weekend. The losers of the Munster semi-final between Tipperary and Limerick, and the losers of the Leinster clashes, Galway v Laois and Kilkenny v Wexford, will complete the eight teams.
So how many games are going to take place?
There’s four knockout games in Round 1 on 4 July and the winners of those four games go forward to contest two knockout games on 11 July. The two winners there will play the beaten provincial finalists on 26 July in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
And how will the draw unfold?
The teams shall be drawn from two bowls
- 1. Four Leinster championship teams
- 2. Three Munster teams plus one Leinster Championship team
The Leinster championship team to be included in the Munster group must be one of the two teams that qualified for the Leinster quarter-finals through the provincial qualifier group.
That will be either Laois or Westmeath but will definitely be Westmeath if Laois qualify for the Leinster final.
If Laois lose, a draw will be made to determine whether they or Westmeath are included in Bowl 2.
So that means at the moment we have Dublin, Offaly and Wexford/Kilkenny definitely in Bowl 1 along with Clare, Cork and Limerick/Tipperary definitely in Bowl 2.
Anything else we should know?
The venues will be played on a home or away basis and will be determined by a seperate draw.
There will be an attempt avoid repeat pairings which could include clashes like Dublin v Galway, Offaly v Laois and Wexford v Westmeath.
- This article was originally published on 9 June at 15.05pm
