SATURDAY
Leinster SHC round 3
Wexford v Galway, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 4pm
Munster SHC round 3
Waterford v Tipperary, Walsh Park, 6pm
Joe McDonagh Cup round 3
Down v Westmeath, Ballycran, 3pm
Kerry v Laois, Austin Stack Park, 3pm
Meath v Offaly, Trim, 3pm
ONLINE
Live blogs/live scores on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.
TV
Wexford v Galway and Waterford v Tipperary are both live on GAAGO.
RADIO
WEATHER
Saturday: Another mostly cloudy and misty day with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle, most prevalent across the North and East. The best of the sunny spells in the southwest. Highest temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees with a light southwest to west breeze. For more, visit met.ie.
This weekend is one of the quieter ones on the hurling championship calendar, with just one fixture each in the Munster and Leinster championships and three games down for decision in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Henry Shefflin's Galway make the trip to Chadwicks Wexford Park, with the home side in desperate need of a win after losing to Antrim.
Defeat on their own patch on Saturday would leave the Yellowbellies on just a single point heading into their final outings against Carlow and Kilkenny.
The recent history in this fixtures doesn’t make for good reading for Keith Rossiter’s side, with the Tribesmen winning four of the last six. The other two games, in 2019 and 2022, ended in draws.
Indeed, you have to go back to the 1996 All-Ireland semi-final for the last time they got the better of the men from the west.
Rossiter had seemed to lift some of the gloom that surrounded Wexford following last year’s debacle, when the Model County won just one league match, escaped relegation to the Joe McDonagh Cup by the skin of their teeth and were humbled by Westmeath in Leinster before Darragh Egan left the post as manager.
However, a league campaign that offered green shoots has been offset by a challenging championship start. The concession of two injury-time goals against Dublin saw them snatch a draw from the jaws of victory in the opening round, while this was followed up by defeat at Corrigan Park last time out.
Lee Chin has picked off 3-23 in the opening two fixtures – 64% of Wexford’s overall total – but while their talisman has hit the ground running, they will need to get more of a tune out of those around him to collect a first win on the group stages.
Cian Byrne looked lively after earning his place on the team, finishing with four points from play last weekend, but they will need to find a way to get Conor McDonald and Rory O’Connor more involved.
The Tribesmen arrive on the back of last weekend’s draw with Kilkenny, captain Conor Whelan rescuing a share of the spoils at the death.
The sparkling performance of Cathal Mannion will have pleased the Galway contingent, though Shefflin admitted it was an up-and-down performance.
Having started strongly, they looking to be heading for a home defeat when the Cats upped the ante, yet Galway showed their resilience to pick off six of the last eight scores.
The Kilkenny native admitted he was most disappointed by their shooting efficiency, with the inclusion of Evan Niland an attempt to rectify that somewhat.
Wexford: Mark Fanning; Shane Reck, Conor Foley, Niall Murphy; Simon Donohoe, Damien Reck, Matthew O'Hanlon; Conor Hearne, Kevin Foley; Liam Óg McGovern, Lee Chin, Cathal Dunbar; Cian Byrne, Conor McDonald, Rory O'Connor.
Subs: Aaron Duggan, Eoin Ryan, Séamus Casey, Mikie Dwyer, Darragh Carley, Richie Lawlor, Conor Devitt, Jack Doran, Tomás Kinsella, Jack O'Connor, Liam Ryan.
Galway: Darach Fahy; Jack Grealish, Daithí Burke, Fintan Burke; Gearóid McInerney, Pádraic Mannion, Cianan Fahy; Ronan Glennon, Gavin Lee; Tom Monaghan, Evan Niland, Brian Concannon; Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney, Cathal Mannion.
Subs: Eanna Murphy, Adrian Tuohey, Seán Linnane, Eoin Lawless, Donal O'Shea, David Burke, Jonathan Glynn, Joseph Cooney, John Cooney, Jason Flynn, Declan McLoughlin.
After a frantic couple of weeks in Munster, the sole fixture in round 3 sees a wounded Tipperary make the journey to face a Waterford side looking to build on a highly impressive opening-round victory over Cork.
An exasperated Liam Cahill seemed to suggest that multiple team changes were coming following their crushing defeat at the hands of Limerick last Sunday, so it is perhaps surprising that he has named the same personnel to take to the field on Saturday afternoon.
Inter-county managers have been known to deviate away from the public plan, but regardless of who is given a starting number, the expectation will be that the Premier men will have to reduce their turnovers at the very least if they are to avoid making it two defeats from two.
From the moment Aaron Gillane struck the back of the Tipp net, the body language seemed to change and the All-Ireland champions coasted to victory without ever getting near top gear themselves.
"It's a game where we just have to throw off the shackles," Cahill admitted last week looking ahead to the tussle with Waterford, using the well-worn phrase that suggests the Tipp players volunteered to take on Limerick with U-shaped pieces of metal secured around their feet.
The suspicion that the Tipp boss hasn't quite figured out his strongest XV is hard to shake.
On the flip side, Davy Fitzgerald and his Waterford charges come into the contest in flying form and bidding to make it a 100% success rate at home before challenging away assignments against Clare and Limerick.
They have beaten Tipperary in the last two Munster round-robin clashes, and also the 2021 All-Ireland quarter-final, leaving Tipp seeking a first win in the fixture in five years.
That the hosts have named an unchanged side is less surprising, with Fitzgerald hoping for more of the same. Jamie Barron (1-03) was imperious against the Rebels, while Mikey Kiely and Jack Prendergast caught the eye on the half-forward line.
Ahead of them, Stephen Bennett and Dessie Hutchinson have started the championship with serious intent, with the later, for all his placed-ball prowess, hoping to chip in with more from play than his single point last time out.
Waterford: Shaun O'Brien; Kieran Bennett, Conor Prunty, Iarlaith Daly; Mark Fitzgerald, Tadhg de Búrca, Calum Lyons; Jamie Barron, Darragh Lyons; Neil Montgomery, Stephen Bennett, Jack Prendergast; Dessie Hutchinson, Michael Kiely, Kevin Mahony.
Subs: Billy Nolan, Ian Kenny, Jack Fagan, Mairtín Power, Patrick Curran, Patrick Fitzgerald, Shane Bennett, Peter Hogan, Pádraig Fitzgerald, Paddy Leavey, Tom Barron.
Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Johnny Ryan, Ronan Maher, Craig Morgan; Michael Breen, Bryan O'Mara, Conor Bowe; Willie Connors, Eoghan Connolly; Alan Tynan, Gearoid O'Connor, Jason Forde; Jake Morris, Mark Kehoe, Seán Hayes.
Subs: Rhys Shelly, Cathal Barrett, Paddy Cadell, Seánie Kenneally, Patrick Maher, Dan McCormack, John McGrath, Noel McGrath, Andrew Ormond, Conor Stakelum, Darragh Stakelum.
All three games in the Joe McDonagh Cup throw in at 3pm, with most eyes fixed on the fixture at Austin Stack Park where Kerry and Laois put their unbeaten runs on the line.
Stephen Molumphy's side, particularly with Maurice O’Connor to the fore, impressed in wins over Westmeath and Down, but Laois come armed with scoring power.
The O’Moore County plundered seven goals against Meath and have hit 9-50 in their opening two matches of the competition.
Winless Westmeath make the journey to Ballycran against a Down side looking to return to winning ways after defeat to The Kingdom last time out.
Killian Doyle - pictured above - will again carry the scoring burden for the visitors. He amassed 0-15 in defeat to Offaly, while Dáithí Sands carries a real goal threat for the Mourne men.
Finally, bottom of the table Meath welcome the Faithful County to Trim. It has been a difficult few weeks for the Royals, shipping that big defeat Laois and currently with a scoring difference of -39.
Brian Duignan inspired Offaly back to winning ways last time out against Westmeath after flirting with disaster at times in what was a fiery contest in Tullamore.
Down: Stephen Keith; Matt Conlan, Conor Cassidy, Dara Mallon; Caolan Taggart, Ruairí McCrickard, Tom Murray; Donal Hughes, Liam Savage; Pearse Óg McCrickard, Eoghan Sands, Paul Sheehan; Daithí Sands, Chris Egan, Tim Prenter.
Subs: Pearce Smyth, Finn Turpin, Tom McGrattan, Daniel Toner, Barry Trainor, John McManus, Marc Fisher, Cormac McAllister, Phelim Savage, Aodhan Furlong, Oisín MacManus.
Westmeath: Noel Conaty; Johnny Bermingham, Tommy Doyle, Conor Gaffney; Aonghus Clarke, Darragh Egerton, Aaron Craig; Peter Clarke, Kevin Regan; Niall Mitchell, David Williams, Owen McCabe; David O'Reilly, Killian Doyle, Eoin Keyes.
Subs: Jamie Mulkearns, Charlie McCormack, Davy Glennon, Jordy Smyth, Darragh Clinton, Jack Gillen, Ciarán Doyle, Conor Shaw, Shane Clavin, Michael Daly, Shane McGovern.
Kerry: Louis Dee; Evan Murphy, Flor McCarthy, Eric Leen; Daithí Griffin, Fionán Mackessy, Kyle O'Connor; Darragh Shanahan, Ronan Walsh; Colin Walsh, Niall Mulcahy, Killian Hayes; Luke Crowley, Maurice O'Connor, Michael Leane.
Subs: Diarmuid Quirke, Bill Keane, Brandon Barrett, Dan Goggin, Dara Kearney, Darragh Reen, David Woulfe, Gavin Dooley, Morgan Madden, Tom Doyle, Tomás O'Connor.
Laois: Enda Rowland; Ian Shanahan, Ryan Mullaney, Diarmuid Conway; Liam O'Connell, Padraig Delaney, Tom Cuddy; Aidan Corby, Paddy Purcell; Aaron Dunphy, Stephen Maher, David Dooley; Tomás Keyes, Mark Dowling, Jer Quinlan.
Subs: Cathal Dunne, Donnchadh Hartnett, Pádraic Dunne, Fiachra C Fennell, Lee Cleere, John Lennon, Ross King, Willie Dunphy, Martin Phelan, James Duggan, Gearóid Lynch.
Meath: Charlie Ennis; Jarlath Ennis, Shane Whitty, Daire Shine; Seán Geraghty, Simon Ennis, Kris Gorman; David Murtagh, Niall McLarnon; James Kelly, Tom Shine, Seán Quigley; Mark Horan, Eamon Óg Ó Donnchadha, Nicky Potterton.
Subs: Philip O'Brien, Seán Martin, Michael Burke, William Gleeson, Jack Walsh, Jamie Leavy, Domhnall Rogers, Josh Wall, Ciarán Lonergan, Adam Kelly, Damien Healy.
Offaly: Mark Troy; Cathal King, Ciarán Burke, Ben Conneely; Donal Shirley, Cillian Kiely, Sam Bourke; David King, Luke Watkins; Killian Sampson, Brian Duignan, Oisín Kelly; Eimhin Kelly, Charlie Mitchell, Dan Bourke.
Subs: Stephen Corcoran, Leon Fox, Eoghan Cahill, Adam Screeney, Dara Maher, Ross Ravenhill, Pádraig Cantwell, Jack Clancy, Paul Cleary, Jack Screeney, Colin Spain.
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