Connacht

Quarter-Finals (Oct 31^st/Nov 1^st)

Mayo vs Leitrim

*Roscommon vs London cancelled due to Covid-19 travel restrictions meaning Roscommon progress directly to the semi-finals.

Semi-Finals (Nov 7^th/8^th)

Sligo vs Galway

Mayo/Leitrim vs Roscommon

Final (Nov 14^th/15^th)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Munster football fixtures

Quarter-Finals (Oct 31^st/Nov 1^st)

Waterford vs Limerick

Tipperary vs Clare

Semi-Finals (Nov 7^th/8^th)

Cork vs Kerry

Waterford/Limerick vs Clare/Tipperary

Final (Nov 22^nd)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Leinster football fixtures

Round 1 (Oct 31^st/Nov 1^st)

Louth vs Longford

Wexford vs Wicklow

Carlow vs Offaly

Quarter-Finals (Nov 7^th/8^th)

Laois vs Louth/Longford

Meath vs Wexford/Wicklow

Kildare vs Carlow/Offaly

Westmeath vs Dublin

Semi-Finals (Nov 14^th/15^th)

Quarter-Final Winner vs Quarter-Final Winner

Quarter-Final Winner vs Quarter-Final Winner

Final (Nov 21^st/22^nd)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Ulster football fixtures

Preliminary Round (Oct 31^s)

Monaghan vs Cavan

Quarter-Finals

Donegal vs Tyrone (Nov 1^st)

Derry vs Armagh (Nov 1^st)

Monaghan/Cavan vs Antrim (Nov 7^th)

Fermanagh vs Down (Nov 8^th)

Semi-Finals

Donegal/Tyrone vs Derry/Armagh (Nov 14^th)

Fermanagh/Down vs Monaghan/Cavan/Antrim (Nov 15^th)

Final (Nov 22^nd)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

All-Ireland Championship fixtures

Semi-Finals (Dec 5^th/6^th)

Leinster Champions vs Ulster Champions

Connacht Champions vs Munster Champions

Final (Dec 19^th)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Preview

Leinster

As we enter the 2020 Football Championship season in these unprecedented times, the goal will not change for the Dublin football team as they will be looking to make it six All-Ireland’s in a row after narrowly beating Kerry to the title last year.

Dublin will be strong favourites to retain the Championship this year and kick off their campaign against Westmeath in the Leinster provincial quarter-final clash. The last time Dublin faced Westmeath in an All-Ireland game was back in 2017 in the Leinster semi-final when they ran out convincing winners, winning the game by an astonishing 31 points.

Dublin have strolled through recent provincial championship campaigns scoring a plethora of points along the way, and the same is to be expected this season.

Ulster

The strongest challenge Dublin have faced on their route to the final in the last two championships has come in the form of Tyrone who suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Dublin in the group stage of the 2018 championship and followed this up the following year with another loss in 2019.

The 2017 Ulster champions Tyrone will be hoping for a superior performance this season, however they must overcome current Ulster champions Donegal if they wish to progress beyond the provincial stage.

With a change of format to the championship this year, there will be no quarter-final group stage before the commencement of the semi-finals. This means only one team from each province will progress onto the semi-finals in a knockout-style tournament.

The Ulster champions will meet the Leinster champions in the first of the semi-finals.

Munster

Kerry, who came so close to clinching the 2019 championship after taking Dublin to a replay, will be strongly tipped to reach the final again this year.

For the last three years, Kerry and Cork have come up against each other in the Munster football final with Kerry defeating their rivals on all three occasions. This season will bring about a different final as Cork and Kerry will meet in the semi-final.

Kerry must face the challenge of Cork first and then potentially Clare, Tipperary, Waterford or Limerick in the Munster final. Tipperary were the last of these teams to reach the provincial final, but ultimately suffered defeat at the hands of Kerry in 2016. An upset this year isn’t likely, but teams like Tipperary and Clare will intend to prosper in their role as underdogs.

Connacht

The second semi-final clash will be contested between the Munster champions and the Connacht champions. The last team from the west to get their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup was Galway almost 20 years ago. Galway enjoyed a good run of form this year before the Allianz Football League was postponed, perched at the top of Division 1 after winning four out of their five matches. Mayo on the other hand have only won one league game this season but came very close in the 2016 and 2017 All-Ireland finals, losing by a point both times to Dublin.

Reigning champions Roscommon, along with their rivals Mayo and Galway, will be aiming to break this duck. Mayo have not won the Connacht Championship since 2015, but have managed to pave an alternative route to the semi-final and final stages in recent campaigns. However, their provincial form will have to improve with the new format that is in place.

Prediction

If Kerry can overcome the early challenge of Cork, they have a clear path to the final and a much anticipated rematch against Dublin. Providing they perform well at provincial level, Donegal may prove to be the biggest obstacle for Dublin in their journey to the 2020 All-Ireland final. A closely contested Allianz Football League fixture between the two teams back in February, which was decided by a single point, would give Donegal confidence if they were to face the All-Ireland champions again.

Nonetheless, although a surprise result or two along the way might be expected under the new format, it is hard not to envisage a repeat of the 2019 All-Ireland final. The 2020 All-Ireland final is set to take place on December 19^th.

The post Preview and Fixtures – Leinster, Munster, Ulster & Connacht Football appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leinster hurling fixtures

Quarter-Final (Oct 24^th/25^th)

Laois vs Dublin

Semi-Finals (Oct 31^st/Nov 1^st)

Galway vs Wexford

Kilkenny vs Laois/Dublin

Final (Nov 14^th/15^th)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Munster hurling fixtures

Quarter-Final (Oct 25^th)

Limerick vs Clare

Semi-Finals (Oct 31^st/Nov 1^st)

Cork vs Waterford

Tipperary vs Limerick/Clare

Final (Nov 15^th)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

All-Ireland Championship

Round 1 (2 games) (Nov 7^th/8^th)

Round 2 (2 games) (Nov 14^th/15^th)

Quarter-Finals (2 games) (Nov 21^st/22^nd)

Semi-Finals (Nov 28^th/29^th);

Leinster Champions vs Quarter-Final Winner

Munster Champions vs Quarter-Final Winner

Final (Dec 13^th)

Semi-Final Winner 1 vs Semi-Final Winner 2

Preview

Leinster

Last year’s finalists Kilkenny will begin their campaign against either Dublin or Laois in the Leinster provincial semi-final encounter. Despite a heavy defeat against Tipperary in the 2019 final, Kilkenny will be aiming to go one better this year and claim the championship. To achieve this they may need to rely once more on star centre-forward and last year’s top scorer TJ Reid.

Galway and Wexford may be Kilkenny’s biggest challengers at provincial level. Galway were victorious in the 2017 All-Ireland final and then narrowly beaten in the 2018 final. Wexford will look to retain their Leinster title. Given the congested fixture list due to a delayed start to this season’s championship, each team will be determined to bypass the preliminary quarter-final stage and cement their place at the semi-finals.

Anything can happen during a knock-out style tournament and teams like Dublin and Laois will need to take a few scalps if they hope to progress in this season’s championship.

Munster

Reigning champions Tipperary kick off the new season with a clash against Limerick or Clare in the Munster Championship semi-final. Cork face Waterford in the other semi-final. Despite the fact that Waterford failed to win a single game in the 2019 Munster Championship, they have performed to a high level in this season’s Allianz Hurling Division 1. They were sitting in second place in Group 1 before the season was curtailed.

Akin to Waterford, Clare also had a successful 2019 Allianz League campaign as they finished top of Division 1 Group 2 above Wexford and 2019 finalists Kilkenny. They will battle it out against 2018 All-Ireland champions Limerick who will be hoping to go one further and reach the All-Ireland final this season.

There is a sense of optimism around the county that this Limerick team can recreate their triumphant win two years ago after John Kiely’s return to the managerial position. The quarter-final encounter between Clare and Limerick will double up as the Munster Allianz League Division 1 final.

Prediction

Tipperary remain strong favourites to retain the Liam McCarthy Cup. However there are plenty of teams that may fancy their chances this year, especially under the new format where any team can win on their day. Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway and Cork to name a few, will all be eager to knock Tipperary off their throne. It is set to be an exciting All-Ireland Hurling Championship which will come to a climax on December 13^th in Croke Park.

The post Preview, Fixtures & Tables – Munster and Leinster Hurling Championship appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

BBC report that plans are currently been discussed to resume a curtailed Pro 14 championship on August 22nd.

Talks have been ongoing between the Pro 14 and clubs. It is likely that if the games were to be played they would be played behind closed doors. This would mean no spectators present in the stands. A full return of the Pro 14 competition would be difficult as it covers five countries, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa. Therefore, it wouldn’t be feasible in the current climate to just begin games.

BBC report that a virtual meeting was held on Thursday. Proposals were put in place to play two rounds of conference with sides playing teams from their own country from August 22nd. This would mean for example fixtures between Leinster, Connacht, Munster and Ulster. However, when you look at Wales, Scotland and South Africa, it would potentially mean teams would have to play each other on consecutive weekends.

Scottish rugby chief operating officer Dominic McKay, who is also a board member of the PRO 14 said that any resumption to the competition will be dependent on government approval. He said, “We are still looking at scenarios that might see some way of potentially finishing the PRO 14 season”.

Wales Online have released the potential fixtures which have been pencilled in for August 22nd, which shows in terms of Ireland provincial games,  Leinster playing Munster and Connacht versus Ulster. August 29th will see Leinster travel to Ulster and Connacht travelling to Munster. Heineken Champions Cup games are also scheduled to resume with these beginning on September 12th. The semi-finals are to take place on September 26th. Whether these are likely to be given the go ahead remains questionable. This is my opinion because teams will have to travel to different countries.

A fixture list has also been drawn up which Wales Online report is likely to see the season finish in August/September. They report that the Pro 14 play-off semi-finals are pencilled in for the 5th of September. The final scheduled to take place around the 17-19th of September. Obviously, these are only drafts as if the games were to go ahead they will have to get the green light from government officials.

At present rugby is seen as non essential. This is just like every other sport as we still are in midst of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, rugby falls under stage 5 in terms of the governments 5 stage plan here in Ireland. This would mean rugby can commence from August 10th. However, as previously stated if it was to return the number of spectators will be limited or non existent. Previously, discussions took place on whether to call the season and give Leinster the trophy. This was because they had the most points of all the sides in conference A and B. European place were also going to be awarded on the basis of the teams position in the table. However, this is obviously not going to happen now owing to the new proposals which have been drawn by the PRO 14 hierarchy.

Personally, I can see the games returning. However, they will obviously have to be behind closed doors. The only concerning aspect is probably when we reach the semi-finals stages where are the games going to be played for example? Would it be okay for example for Edinburgh or Glasgow to travel over to the RDS? These are all the questions that have to be answered.

But we can now disclose fixtures featuring Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and the Scarlets, as well as those involving the Irish and Scottish teams, could all be switched to the Republic and probably be played behind closed doors.

The fixture list

AUGUST 22

Proposed fixtures

Leinster v Munster

Ospreys v Dragons

Connacht v Ulster

Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors

Zebre v Treviso

Southern Kings v Cheetahs

Scarlets v Cardiff Blues

Proposed fixtures

Ulster v Leinster

Cardiff Blues v Ospreys

Dragons v Scarlets

Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh

Benetton v Zebre

Cheetahs v Southern Kings

Munster v Connacht

SEPTEMBER 5

Winner Conference A v Runner-up Conference B

Winner Conference B v Runner-up Conference A

SEPTEMBER 12

European quarter-finals

SEPTEMBER 17-19

PRO14 final

SEPTEMBER 26

EPCR semi-finals

The post Pro 14 rugby fixtures list could be set for August appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.