The penultimate rounds of the group stages of the Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups take place this weekend.

Christy Ring Cup

Saturday’s Christy Ring Cup schedule starts with a pivotal meeting between Meath and Tyrone.

Meath – widely tipped to make a quick return to the Joe McDonagh Cup after going unbeaten through their first eight games of 2023 – saw that run ended by London in round two, but they bounced back with a hard-earned win away to Derry. 2022 Nickey Rackard Cup winners Tyrone settled in well to the higher level with a draw against Derry and a fine victory away to Mayo, but they were pipped to the post by Sligo last time out. Having moved up the tiers in both league and championship this year, Tyrone have been competitive in almost every game, but they were unable to match the eventual Division IIB winners when they met in March.

Jack Regan, James Toher, Éamon Ó Donnchadha and Pádraig O’Hanrahan should play key roles for Meath, while Lorcan Devlin, Conor Grogan, Dermot Begley and Seán Duffin have been showing well for Tyrone.

Markievicz Park hosts a Connacht derby between Sligo and Mayo.

Mayo had a seven-point win over Sligo last year en route to a first Christy Ring Final appearance, but they go into this game four points behind their near-neighbours in the table. Defeats to Meath, Tyrone and London leave Mayo in urgent need of a win to retain any hope of moving off the bottom, while narrow wins over London and Tyrone (either side of a loss to Derry) have seen Sligo put their league relegation behind them.

Andrew Kilcullen, Diarmuid Hanniffy, Joe McHugh and Tomás Cawley should be to the fore for Sligo. Mayo will be looking for big performances from Cormac Phillips, Joe Mooney, Joseph McManus and Fergal Boland.

Round four concludes with London welcoming Derry to Ruislip on Sunday.

After being denied in the closing stages of their opening game against Sligo, London go into this one on the back of morale-boosting wins over Meath and Mayo. Derry have experienced every possible result across their first three games: drawing with Tyrone, enjoying a convincing win over Sligo and being edged out by Meath. Derry had a six-point victory in the reverse fixture last year.

London have the competition’s leading scorer to date in Ronan Crowley (2-35), with Jack Goulding and Fiachra O’Keeffe also among their main men. Cormac O’Doherty has racked up 4-64 between league and championship during 2023, while John Mullan and James Friel can also contribute.

Nickey Rackard Cup

Wicklow will be chasing a fourth straight win in the Nickey Rackard Cup when they host Roscommon on Saturday.

Having been demoted from the Christy Ring Cup for the first time last year, Wicklow have put themselves on track for a swift return via wins against Louth, Fermanagh and Armagh. Allianz Hurling League Division IIIA winners Roscommon beat Louth in round two, but losses to Armagh and Donegal leave them with no margin for error if they are to reach a second consecutive Nickey Rackard decider.

Gavin Weir, Andy O’Brien, Luke Evans and Christy Moorehouse give Wicklow plenty of firepower up front, while Roscommon will be leaning on Paddy Fallon, Mickey Joe Egan and Conor Mulry to provide the bulk of their scores.

Donegal will also be defending a 100% record when they take on Louth.

Wins over Fermanagh, Armagh and Roscommon have Allianz Hurling League Division IIB runners-up Donegal well placed to qualify for a fifth Nickey Rackard final. 2022 Lory Meagher winners Louth are chasing their first win of the campaign after following up losses to Wicklow and Roscommon with a high-scoring draw against Fermanagh.

Donegal have had Liam McKinney, Declan Coulter, Ronan McDermott, Gerard Gilmore and Danny Cullen to thank for their strong form. Darren Geoghegan is the talisman for Louth, with support from the likes of Liam Molloy and Mark Gahan.

The third all-Ulster clash of the Nickey Rackard group stage sees Fermanagh and Armagh go head-to-head.

Fermanagh’s fate so far has mirrored their league campaign as another couple of competitive displays against Donegal and Wicklow left them empty-handed, although they did strike late to salvage a share of the spoils from a thriller away to Louth. Armagh began by reversing their recent history with Roscommon to claim a big victory, but they have been unable to build on that: losing out to front-runners Donegal and Wicklow. Armagh have beaten Fermanagh twice in the last 12 months, but by a combined margin of just three points.

The teams can call on the joint-highest scorers in the competition so far, with Fermanagh’s Luca McCusker and Armagh’s Fionntán Donnelly leading the way. Daniel Teague, Francis McBrien and Seán Corrigan are also among Fermanagh’s main men, with Tomás Galvin and Cormac Jennings making a big impact this year for Armagh.

Lory Meagher Cup

Neighbours Longford and Cavan contest a top-of-the-table clash in the Lory Meagher Cup on Saturday.

Both teams made unsuccessful trips to Páirc na hÉireann on the opening weekend, with Longford losing to Lancashire and Cavan falling short against Warwickshire. They have both revived their hopes with back-to-back wins, however. Cavan put home advantage to good use against Monaghan and Lancashire, while Longford had contrasting victories at the expense of Warwickshire and Leitrim. Longford beat the Breffni men in last year’s Lory Meagher, but two-point win at Saturday’s venue in February set Cavan up for a successful Division IIIB campaign.

Cathal Mullane, Paddy Lynam, Reuben Murray and David Buckley should spearhead Longford’s challenge, while Cavan will be looking to Canice Maher, Cillian Sheanon, Mark Moffett, Seán Keating and Dillon Mulligan to keep them on track.

Páirc na hÉireann hosts a double-header on Sunday, starting with Warwickshire v Leitrim.

Both teams have ground to make up on the leading contenders after mixed results so far. Warwickshire ended their long wait for a win at the expense of Cavan, but they were unable to replicate that against either Longford or Monaghan. After battling from seven points down late on to salvage a draw against Monaghan, Leitrim haven’t been able to take anything from their two subsequent games v Lancashire and Longford. Leitrim have already made one fruitful trip to Sunday’s venue this year, defeating Warwickshire on their way to the Division IIIB final.

Jack Grealish and Luke Hands have between them contributed more than three-quarters of Warwickshire’s total so far this season. Leitrim have spread the scoring burden more evenly among the likes of Martin Feeney, Gavin O’Hagan, Joe Murray and Conor Beirne.

That will be followed by Lancashire v Monaghan.

Lancashire, who were Lory Meagher finalists in 2018 and 2019, recaptured some of that kind of form with prolific displays against Longford and Leitrim, although their winning streak was brought to a grinding halt by Cavan. Monaghan let a big lead slip in a draw with Leitrim, before falling short in a derby in Cavan, but they got back to winning ways in comprehensive style against Warwickshire. The Exiles, who lost by a point to Monaghan in the final round of last year’s group stage, have been one of the most potent goal-scoring teams of 2023.

Conor Kennedy and Ray McCormack have hit six majors each for Lancashire this season, while Robin Spencer and Darragh Carroll are also among their scoring threats. Monaghan have been without their regular top scorer Fergal Rafter through injury, but Niall Arthur, Ethan Flynn, Niall Garland and Thomas Hughes stepped up to the mark in the Warwickshire game.

FIXTURES

Saturday, May 13

Christy Ring Cup Round 4

Meath v Tyrone, Navan, 4.30pm

Sligo v Mayo, Markievicz Park, 6pm

Nickey Rackard Cup Round 4

Fermanagh v Armagh, Enniskillen, 3pm

Donegal v Louth, Letterkenny, 3pm

Wicklow v Roscommon, Aughrim, 3pm

Lory Meagher Cup Round 4

Longford v Cavan, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 12pm

Sunday, May 14

Christy Ring Cup Round 4

London v Derry, Ruislip, 12pm

Lory Meagher Cup Round 4

Warwickshire v Leitrim, Páirc na hÉireann, 12pm

Lancashire v Monaghan, Páirc na hÉireann, 2pm