Fresh scope for optimism as gaelic games dates revealed

By Oisín Bradley

Sports Editor

As the regular hallmarks of summer come into clearer effect and plans for a return to normal life post Covid-19 pandemic seem all the clearer, the sense of optimism in gaelic games circles has been sharpened in recent weeks by the prospect of a return to competitive action.

The GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association have begun to release their plans for the commencement and format of the inter-county calendars, with dates given and targets set for all of the Galway senior sides following the finalisations from GAA HQ. Here, we’ll give you the lowdown of all of the fixtures revealed for the four sides.

Galway Mens’ Gaelic Football:

For Pádraic Joyce and the Galway Mens’ footballers, it appears that the Allianz League Division One will be taking on more of a condensed format to that in years previous. The campaign will be run in two regional-style conferences, with sides from the North and South of the country divided into groups of four. The winner of each group will go into the final. The Tribesmen face a daunting first task, with the arduous prospect of a trip to Killarney to take on reigning League champions Kerry.

Roscommon follow a week later in Pearse Stadium, before the reigning All-Ireland champions Dublin make the trip to Tuam for the last of the regular League fixtures. From there, it’s out of the frying pan and straight into the fire, with a trip to face near-neighbours the Rossies in the Championship semi-final.

Championship clashes between these two in recent campaigns can only be described as unpredictable, and although the other big side in the province, Mayo made light work of the men in yellow last season, that by no means makes them an easy opponent this time out.

Allianz League:

• 15/5: Kerry vs Galway • 23/5: Galway vs Roscommon • 30/5: Galway vs Dublin

Connacht SFC:

• TBC: Roscommon vs Galway

Galway Camogie:

Galways’s camogie stars will be out for blood this season, having relinquished their grip on their All-Ireland crown at the last hurdle in the All-Ireland final to Kilkenny. That said, it will certainly not be easy, with plenty waiting in the wings and looking to cause an upset.

The Littlewoods Ireland Division One Camogie League will be first and foremost, with three regionalized groups of three the format for the 2021 campaign following the cancellation of the competition last year.

Galway will kick-start their season on home turf against Clare, before making the trip down the M18 to take on their Limerick counterparts a fortnight later. From there, the best two first-placed teams advance straight to the last four, with the other and the three secondplaced teams playing two quarter-finals.

As of yet, there has been no indication from the Camogie Association on how they plan to run off the 2021 Liberty Insurance Camogie Championship, whether be in the tried and tested group format or something else. The date for the start of the Championship is still not known. However, one thing is clear: Cathal Murray’s charges will have their sights clearly set on redemption.

Littlewoods Ireland League: 15/5: Galway vs Clare 29/5: Limerick vs Galway

Galway Ladies’ Football:

Gerry Fahy will have an enormous job in his debut campaign as Galway manager along with the likes of Donegal, Mayo, and Cork if they are to usurp the stranglehold on Ladies’ Football. The girls in maroon have made steady progress in the last few years, and will have an even greater burning passion to return to the same stage as last season where they were so unfairly wronged.

As with the other two codes, a regional league format is being brought in, with Westmeath, Mayo and Donegal making up this side of the draw. First up is a trip to face local rivals Mayo, before hosting Westmeath on home turf seven days later. Finally, it will be Donegal making the trip to the banks of the Corrib to take on the women in maroon on June 6th, before the knockout rounds of the League.

It is as of yet unclear as to what format the LGFA will adopt for the Championship, but if a provincial system is to be implemented, then provincial honours must be the goal. Mayo will be likely to provide a stern test on that front, given the re-introduction of some of the Carnacon girls back into the fold.

If this is not the case, and the group stage-style format is adopted by the association, then at the very least a return to the semi-finals should be the objective. The magic is certainly in the boots of these footballers, and last season proved that, on their day, any of the sides in the chasing pack can put it up to the Dubs.

National League:

• 23/5: Mayo vs Galway • 30/5: Galway vs Westmeath • 6/6: Galway vs Donegal

Galway Hurling:

There is certainly a modicum of room for improvement for the hurlers this season. The Tribesmen can be content with making it as far as the All-Ireland semi-final last season, having proved that they can mix it with the best in the country given narrow defeats to both Kilkenny in the provincial decider and eventual All-Ireland winners Limerick.

They have proven themselves and integrated fresh talent from the club scene into their ranks last season, with the likes of shot-stopper Éanna Murphy settling well. However, they will need to find another level and elevate themselves if they are to right the wrongs of last season and bring Liam MacCarthy back to the City of the Tribes.

The Allianz Hurling League will be ran off in the same pattern as old, with what looks a fairly simple task to kickstart the campaign for Shane O’Neill and his men. Galway travel to Mullingar to take on Westmeath this weekend, with throw-in at 2pm. After that, it’s the turn of Limerick to visit Galway in a repeat of the host’s last Championship outing. Then, it’s a trip to Thurles to take on Tipperary, before rounding off the campaign with clashes against Waterford and Cork.

Whoever emerges from the Leinster Senior Hurling quarter-final between Dublin and Antrim will be looking to upset the apple-cart in the semi-finals, where Galway will be looking to hit the ground running. By the looks of things, it will be either Cody’s Kilkenny or Davy’s Wexford who await in the decider, with Galway out to claim the crown for the first time since 2018.

ALLIANZ LEAGUE: • 8/5 Westmeath vs Galway • 16/5 Galway vs Limerick • 22/5 Tipperary vs Galway • 6/6 Galway vs Waterford • 13/6 Cork vs Galway

LEINSTER SHC: • TBC Dublin/Antrim vs Galway

What can we expect from the Rainbow Cup?

By Michael Bolton

After long consideration and many changes to the format of the competition, the PRO14 Rainbow Cup gets underway this weekend. This competition was originally planned to be a first glimpse for fans to see South African opposition against European sides ahead of the Lions tour in the summer and the PRO16 next season. However, due to safety concerns, inter-continental games will not take place due to restrictions by the South African government, meaning they will not be part of the competition. This will be disappointing to fans for a number of reasons. The Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls were set to participate in the competition, playing each other in the first three rounds before taking on European sides, possibly the Irish provinces. This would have seen World Cup winners such as Makazole Mapimpi, Steven Kitsoff, Lukhanyo Am and Springboks captain Siya Kolisi play in the competition, adding some much-needed quality to the PRO14. The league received criticism after poor performances by some of the sides in Europe, with Scarlets and Edinburgh at the receiving end of heavy losses to Sale Sharks and Racing Metro respectively. The accommodations that were made for this competition meant sacrifices had to be made for the previous campaign. As a result, both Connacht and Ulster suffered as they received no reward for finishing second in their groups, with the final contesting of group winners Leinster and Munster. Ulster fly half Ian Madigan recently spoke on the House of Rugby podcast over his frustrations of this outcome, as his sides only two defeats coming to champions Leinster.

Despite the setbacks this competition has already faced before it kicks off, there is still plenty to look forward to, especially for the Irish provinces. The competition kicks off with inter provincial derbies, which always bring a competitive edge to the game, with international and even Lions spots up for grabs for some players.

It should also be noted the rule changes that will be implemented through this tournament. For Red Cards, the team will be able to replace the dismissed player after 20 minutes. Red cards have been topical recently and this will be interesting to see if this leads to more dismissals within the game. For players held up over the line or defending players touching the ball down in the in goal area, a goal line drop out will be given.

For challenging referee’s, teams will be given one captain challenge per game. The captain can challenge the referee on try scoring or foul play incidents, or any decision in the last five minutes. Similar trials are being seen in the Super Rugby in New Zealand and Australia, perhaps showing the PRO14 to be an open, attractive watching league in Europe, rather than the physical dominance of the English premiership.