THE PENULTIMATE ROUND of National Hurling League games cleared up a lot of questions about the promotion and relegation races in the top divisions, but there’s still plenty to play for this afternoon.
To save you scratching your head in the Semple Stadium stands, here’s what you need to know.
Division 1A
Semi-finals: Four teams are still vying for Division 1A’s three semi-final places, but unless Galway can beat Kilkenny, it will be the Cats, Cork and Tipperary who fill the spots.
The winner of Cork v Tipperary knows that they are guaranteed to go through, but a win for Galway opens up the battle for the other two spots, depending on how many points they win by.
Relegation: Despite getting a late draw against Tipperary last Saturday, Dublin are definitely in the relegation play-off. Waterford are their most likely opponents, although they can guarantee survival at Galway’s expense if they beat Dublin this afternoon and Galway lose to Kilkenny.
Division 1B
Promotion: Clare are definitely in the Division 1B final with Offaly, Limerick and Antrim still in the running to join them. Offaly play Clare today knowing that a win should be good enough to see them through, barring a massive swing in points difference.
Relegation: Wexford (2pts) and Laois (0pts) will meet in the relegation play-off.
Division 2A
Promotion: Nice and easy here — Carlow and Westmeath will play-off for promotion in the Division 2A final.
Relegation: Down know that they will definitely be in the relegation play-off. They play Wicklow, unless the Garden County can beat Carlow this afternoon; if they manage that, Derry could still drop into the bottom two. Kerry are safe.
Division 2B
Promotion: Kildare have already booked their place in the Division 2B final where they will play either Meath (5pts), London or Armagh (both 4pts).
Relegation: There is no relegation from Division 2B or promotion from Division 3A, so no difficult sums to work out.
