Round 3 of Division 1A of the Very Camogie League takes place on Saturday with three intriguing ties.
Only Cork have an unblemished record and only Clare have yet to get off the mark, meaning that it is all to play for with the top two teams qualifying for the final and the bottom side to be relegated to Division 1B.
WEATHER
Mostly cloudy with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle, most frequent in the east and south. Some mist about also Highest temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees in moderate to fresh east to northeast winds. Unusually high tides will bring the possibility of coastal flooding for all coasts.
SATURDAY
DIVISION 1A
Cork v Tipperary, Páirc Uí Rinn, 12pm
Tipperary bounced back from an opening round defeat against Waterford by taking the scalp of champions Galway for the second consecutive League campaign.
Although without a number of elite performers including All-Stars Cáit Devane and Karen Kennedy, Denis Kelly's side showed ferocious workrate at The Ragg to outgun the visitors, who themselves were well short of full strength.
Eimear McGrath pounced for a hat-trick of goals and added seven points to that tally so the much vaunted Cork rearguard, in which Libby Coppinger has proved such repelling force for a number of years, will need to be alert.
The Rebels, under the stewardship of Ger Manley this year, eked out a one-point away victory over Kilkenny first-time out and then squeezed past Waterford by a goal in a real dogfight.
Katrina Mackey has been a key performer once more while former skipper Amy Lee had to pull off some smart stops to keep the Déise at bay. A win here would leave the Leesiders with one foot in the final but Tipp will fancy their chances of putting themselves right in the mix with victory.
Waterford v Clare, Fraher Field, 2pm
It is notable how Waterford have been proving very difficult to score against since Jerry Wallace took over the reins. Two games don't provide a huge body of evidence, but they have only given 1-16 away in two games.
They beat Tipperary in the first round thanks to a goal from Beth Carton and had you told them that they would hold a Cork team that had blitzed them in last year’s All-Ireland final to 1-06 in Carriganore a fortnight ago, they would have been confident of success.
They wasted a lot of gilt-edged opportunities however, and the efforts of the likes of Clodagh Carroll in particular in defence were for nought, although looking at the bigger picture, that they created so many opportunities was an obvious positive.
They will be expected to overcome Clare, who are zero for two but have given a good account of themselves against Galway and Kilkenny so far. John Carmody is beginning a rebuilding phase that will take a few years, with a number of last year’s All-Ireland junior-winning squad stepping up, most of the panel under the age of 25 and players being tried out in new positions.
Áine O’Loughlin and Lorna McNamara are their prime scorers, but defenders Abby Walsh, Eimear Kelly and Susan Daly will need to be on their mettle for the Banner to emerge from Dungarvan with the spoils.
Galway v Kilkenny, Loughrea, 2pm
This could be the clash of the weekend. It is always well contested when two of the game's heavyweights go toe-to-toe and while both Galway boss Cathal Murray and new Kilkenny manager Peter Cleere are prioritising the identification of fresh blood capable of operating at elite level, this is a game they want to win.
The Cats surprised many by how close they came to taking out Cork when the League got under way on 17 February, falling short by just a point without former players of the year Denise Gaule and Miriam Walsh, as well as the likes of Claire Phelan and Grace Walsh.
With Steffi Fitzgerald, Katie Nolan and Aoife Prendergast among those standing out, they then recorded a professional ten-point triumph over Clare and now take to the road after enjoying home comforts at UPMC Nowlan Park to this juncture.
Galway have managed to win the last two League titles while blooding younger players and claimed the honours three times in all under Murray so be assured they will be making it hot for the visitors.
Róisín Black leads the team and a defence without two long-time anchors in her predecessors as skipper, Sarah Dervan and Shauna Healy. Aoife Donohue, Carrie Dolan and Siobhán McGrath are other leaders in what is still a star-studded squad however, and this should go down to the wire.
STREAMING
Cork v Tipperary and Waterford v Clare will both be live on Camogie YouTube.
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