High stakes with Kilkenny and Galway clash a battle for league survival

After Cork got the better of Kilkenny in round four of the Allianz League last weekend, it’s less about looking up the Division 1A table for the Cats and more about getting the points on the board to ensure they are part of the top tier for the 2027 season.

While Cork are table-toppers just ahead of Limerick and Offaly are now officially relegated, there is a group of four sides locked on two wins apiece who are nervously looking over their shoulder and that includes the Noresiders.

The two teams getting relegated has definitely revitalised the competition in the spring campaign and with Kilkenny, Galway, Waterford and Tipperary all locking horns on Saturday and Sunday, it’s very much moving week in a bid to maintain league safety.

The way the league is scheduled means most of the pressure is on Waterford as they have one less game remaining than the other three with a bye weekend awaiting the Munster side in the final round.

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The Deise are at home to Tipperary on Sunday and after already losing to both Kilkenny and Galway, anything other than at least a draw would make Waterford favourites to go down.

A positive result in Waterford’s favour would heighten the stakes but with the Kilkenny and Galway game taking place in Salthill on Saturday evening, the stakes are still very high for the Leinster final rematch.

Throw-in from Pearse Stadium is at 5.15pm and the game is live on RTE 2. All the evidence suggests that Michael Donoghue has his side purring a bit more than last year and Derek Lyng’s side can expect a difficult encounter.

The game is also a preview of the opening clash in the Leinster Championship but with so much to play for, don’t expect either team to hold anything back on Saturday.

The experienced Eoin Murphy sat out last Sunday’s game with a foot knock while the likes of TJ Reid and Adrian Mullen appear to be a few weeks away from a return.

In more positive injury news, David Blanchfield and Tom Phelan have returned over the last two weekends while a couple others continue on the comeback trail.

Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng maintains the view that he has to find a couple new players ahead of the April 18 championship opener with the Tribesmen, but he knows that they must also get league points on the board.

“We’re looking at the panel all the time. We’re looking at players, and we have to find players,” he said. “We’re going to continue doing that. But all the time, we want to be winning.

“There’s no question about that at all. And we have a big test again next weekend,” he concluded.