Cats get ready for semis as championship draws go live on television
Thursday October 22 2009
COUNTIES won’t be allowed to start formal training for the new season until January, but they can start looking ahead to the summer from tonight following the televised draws for the 2010 senior provincial championships.
They will take place live on RTE 2 (8.25).
The various provinces all apply their own particular systems with some operating seeding and others an open draw.
Connacht (football only):
London will play Roscommon, while Galway take on New York as part of the sequence which takes the five home-based counties on overseas duty. After that, an open draw will apply.
Leinster:
This year’s football semi-finalists (Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Westmeath) will be seeded through to the quarter-finals, leaving Meath, Carlow, Wicklow, Wexford, Longford, Louth, Offaly in the first-round draw.
One of those will get a bye to the last eight, with the other six playing off to provide three other quarter-finalists to join the seeded four.
Dublin, who are unbeaten in Leinster since losing to Westmeath in 2004, will be attempting to win a sixth successive title next year.
In hurling, eight teams will compete in Leinster. This follows Carlow’s promotion as Christy Ring Cup winners.
Kilkenny will be seeded through to the semi-finals, leaving seven (Carlow, Laois, Dublin, Offaly, Wexford, Galway and Antrim) in the first-round draw.
Two teams will play off to leave six who will face each other (open draw) to provide three semi-finalists alongside Kilkenny.
The draw for the semi-finals will be made tonight, unlike last year when it was delayed until after the first round was played.
Kilkenny manager, Brian Cody, was deeply unhappy with that arrangement as it left his side in limbo until 13 days before they were due to play the semi-final.
It was thought that with eight teams competing in 2010, the draw would feature four quarter-finals, but the Leinster Council decided to seed Kilkenny through to the semi-finals.
They believe that reduces the chance of a lop-sided draw between weak and strong, but it remains to be seen if that proves to be the case.
Munster:
An open draw will apply in both hurling and football.
Ulster:
An open draw will apply in football.