Interprovincial Preview: Connacht v Leinster

Saturday, March 1

GAA Hurling Inter-Provincial Championship FinalConnacht v Leinster, Croke Park, 5pm

An often heard criticism of the Interprovincial Championships is that they don't get the stage or the audience they deserve - this Saturday's hurling final at Croke Park between Connacht and Leinster should ensure both.

The decision to play the game at GAA Headquarters as the curtain-raiser to a big Allianz Football League match (Dublin v Cork), as opposed to a stand alone fixture at a quiet provincial ground, should ensure a decent attendance at the final, and the attention of supporters who otherwise would not see the game.

Saturday's final is a repeat of the deciders of 2012, 2009 and 2006, with Leinster winning on each of those occasions. Leinster are competing for their 29th Interprovincial title (the competition was formerly known as the Railway Cup), while Connacht are bidding for their 12th title, and a first since 2004.

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Connacht and Leinster advanced to the 2014 decider with wins over Munster and Ulster respectively on February 9. Connacht are represented in the competition entirely by Galway players, and the Tribesmen produced a gallant display to see off a star-studded Munster selection (the Munster side included five of the 2013 All Star team) in Ballinasloe three weeks ago.

Click here for reports of both games

An unanswered scoring burst of 1-7 in the third quarter proved decisive for Connacht, as it overturned a 0-10 to 0-6 half-time Munster lead and put the western province six points clear. St. Thomas' clubman Conor Cooney top-scored on the day with 0-11, while Pádraig Brehony, Jason Flynn, Jonathan Glynn and Davy Glennon also impressed for Anthony Cunningham's side, who won 1-18 to 0-16.

Leinster had an easier time of it in the other semi-final, finishing with a tally of 8-18 in a very straightforward 18-point win over Ulster in Trim. Although Ulster proved to be inadequate opposition on the day, Leinster's goalscoring ability was impressive and Colin Fennelly (2), Joe Bergin (2), Eoin Larkin, Paul Ryan, Jack Guiney and Ryan O'Dwyer all finished the game with three-pointers to their name.

Joe Dooley, manager of the Leinster Interprovincial hurling team, has announced a panel for Saturday's clash. Dooley and his selectors, John Conran, D.J. Carey and Humphrey Kelleher, have named a 26-man panel (see below) with eight representatives from Leinster champions Dublin, seven from both Kilkenny and Wexford, two from Offaly and one each from Laois and Carlow.

There are a few changes to the panel that Dooley had available to him for the semi-final, with some players unavailable for the final and other players coming in who missed out on the semi-final win. Among those who have come in are Liam Rushe, Johnny McCaffrey, TJ Reid, Walter Walsh and Keith Rossiter while Paul Ryan, Joey Boland and Niall O'Brien are among those who miss out through injury.

A big advantage for Connacht ahead of the game is the fact that in their guise as Galway, they have been on duty for the past two weekends, and so, in theory, should be more cohesive as a unit than their opponents, and certainly should be a lot more familiar with one another. They opened up with a fine victory over Dublin in Round 1 of the league a fortnight ago, but came back to earth last weekend with a disappointing 0-22 to 1-13 loss to Waterford in Walsh Park.

Connacht and Leinster met at the semi-final stage of the competition last year, with Connacht recording a 3-13 to 1-16 win over their opponents on that occasion in Tullamore. That win went some way to avenging the final defeats of 2012, 2009 and 2006, but given that Connacht also lost finals to Munster in 2013 and 2007, they will be eager to finally land the trophy this Saturday and end their losing final streak.

Another big incentive is the fact that the footballers of the province won the football version of the competition last weekend. A Connacht win on Sunday would see the province win the Interprovincial 'double' for the first time in their history. The last time any province completed the double was when Leinster won both titles in 2006.

Saturday's final will be the first time the Interprovincial Hurling final has been played at Croke Park since 2007. Of course, if we go back further in time, Croke Park was the perennial home of the Railway Cup final. The final was held there every year during the competition's glory period from 1927-1977, when it was traditionally played on St. Patrick's Day, often in front of very large attendances of 50,000 or more people.

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LEINSTER INTERPROVINCIAL HURLING SQUAD: Gary Maguire, Peter Kelly, Michael Carton, Johnny McCaffrey, Conal Keaney, Ryan O'Dwyer, Liam Rushe, Danny Sutcliffe (all Dublin), Eoin Reilly (Laois), Paul Murphy, TJ Reid, Tommy Walsh, Eoin Larkin, Walter Walsh, Colin Fennelly, Richie Hogan (all Kilkenny), Ciarán Kenny, Keith Rossiter, Lee Chin, Jack Guiney, Andrew Shore, Matthew Hanlon, Richie Kehoe (all Wexford), Joe Bergin, Dan Currams (both Offaly), David English (Carlow).

CONNACHT INTERPROVINCIAL HURLING SQUAD: Connacht are represented in the competition by the current Galway senior hurling panel

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