SATURDAY 22 March
Allianz Hurling League Division 1A
Cork v Galway, SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh 7.30pm
Limerick v Wexford, TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick 7.30pm
Tipperary v Clare, FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles 7.30pm
Division 1B
Carlow v Westmeath, Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow 5pm
Laois v Dublin, Laois Hire O'Moore Park 5pm
Waterford v Offaly, Fraher Field, Dungarvan 4pm
Division 2
Donegal v Derry, O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny 2.30pm
Meath v Kildare, Trim 2.30pm
Tyrone v Kerry, Garvaghey, 2.30pm
Division 3
Armagh v London, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, Armagh 2.30pm
Roscommon v Sligo, King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park 2.30pm
Wicklow v Mayo, Echelon Park, Aughrim 1pm
Division 4
Longford v Monaghan, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park 2pm
Lancashire v Fermanagh, Abbottstown - GAA CoE 2pm
Leitrim v Warwickshire, Connacht CoE, 2pm
ONLINE
Live blog Saturday evening on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.
TV
Cork v Galway live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.20pm. Waterford v Offaly live on TG4.
Highlights and reaction to all the weekend's action on Allianz League Sunday, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, 9.30pm.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport, and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta Spórt an Lae.
WEATHER
Saturday will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain, possibly heavy at times. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees over the eastern half of the country, but only reaching 6 to 8 degrees further west. Fresher winds in the west will extend to all areas through the day. For more go to met.ie.
Tipp to discover final opponents
There is at least one meaningful fixture in each tier on Somewhat Super Saturday and in Division 1A it's the meeting of Cork and Galway, which is live on RTÉ.
The victors will advance to a league final on 5/6 April against Tipperary, who play already relegated Clare tomorrow. That will be likely be one for the fringe panellists and those who need game time, as will Wexford's trip to Limerick. The Munster counties are resting U20s ahead of their competition starting midweek.
But another big crowd is expected at the Páirc to cheer on a Cork team that is already raising expectations of another long summer run.
The Rebels were irrepressible when hitting six goals at Cusack Park a fortnight ago, a statement win that effectively relegated the team that had beaten them in last July's All-Ireland final.
Diarmuid Healy is the latest weapon to be added to a fearsome attack that looks deeper than other team. He, Seamus Harnedy, Luke Meade, Alan Connolly, Shane Kingston and Jack O'Connor could all come off the bench tomorrow - a lot of counties would be happy to start with those six.
They make four changes, Damien Cahalane and Mark Coleman coming in for their first starts of the year in a side featuring a dozen of those who started the All-Ireland final. Cormac O'Brien is on the bench after successfully contesting the red card he was shown against the Banner.
Of course, 'tis only the league etc, and Cork might still be wary of their experience three years ago, when management felt reaching (and losing) the decider had impacted their championship start.
But the other teams will have had a month between competitive outings by 19 April and it certainly didn't seem to hamper Clare or Kilkenny last year. Win and it's worth it, lose and pick up an injury or two and it isn't, presumably.
A first national trophy in 20 years wouldn't be a bad way to cement the growing sense of momentum ahead of Cork's return to Ennis next month.
Standing in their way are surprise package Galway, who looked nailed-on for relegation after their first-round thumping at home by Tipp, but could set up a rematch by winning on Leeside (Cork can afford to draw).
That seems unlikely, given another big beating at the Gaelic Grounds last day out, but manager Micheál Donoghue would surely have taken third or fourth in what he had flagged as a rebuilding season.
Clare, Wexford and Kilkenny, have been impressively dispatched, the latter pair away from home.
New centre-back Gavin Lee and midfield duo Tom Monaghan and Cianan Fahy seem to have nailed down their positions while Anthony Burns has looked lively up front in his first inter-county season.
Cathal Mannion played the last 20 minutes against Limerick and Daithí Burke could test his hamstring, though it might not be the ideal forward unit to do against.
As our hurling columnist Shane McGrath noted, the fact that these two wouldn't face each other again for a while augurs against a tactical phoney war.
Offaly are already in the final in Division 1B but Johnny Kelly has only made two changes for the trip to Waterford, at this stage at least, David Nally and Ter Guinan coming in for Cathal King and Dan Ravenhill.
There was disappointing news for the Faithful earlier today when U20 star Adam Screeney revealed he was still unsure when he would return from an osteitis pubis injury.
"I don't think anyone really expected that at the start of the year, that we'd be in a league final with a game to go and promoted but it's great," he told RTÉ Sport.
"Every game we've turned up, we've played well and we're getting victories where sometimes in the past few years, when it turned into a dogfight, we mightn’t have got the win out but even against Westmeath we struggled and got a win."
The Déise can join them in the final with a draw or win, however, and hammered the Lake men 7-34 to 0-24 last time out, a 25-point bigger margin than Offaly managed three weeks ago.
Tadhg de Búrca makes his first appearance of the year for the hosts.
Carlow need to inflict Westmeath's sixth successive defeat and hope Waterford slip up at Fraher Field, but even then a win for Dublin in Laois would leave three teams on eight points and Peter Queally's side currently have a 29-point cushion, and the head to head against the Dubs if required.
Down were already into the final next weekend but their loss to Meath (in the absence of the Portaferry contingent, who were at a wedding) has opened the door for the Royals.
Victory over Kildare in Trim would be enough for them to usurp the visitors' spot in the decider. A draw would be enough for Brian Dowling's men.
It's a three-way fight to avoid the drop at the other end of the table but if Kerry avoid defeat against already-relegated Tyrone then the winner of Donegal-Derry stays up. Donegal have the superior points difference if that one ends a draw.
In Division 3, Wicklow and Mayo meet in Aughrim to to decide who will join London in the final. A draw would do Mayo.
Armagh will be hoping the Exiles take their foot off the gas and they can leapfrog Cavan or Roscommon. The Rossies will stay up if they draw or hand Sligo a sixth defeat.
Head-to-head results mean Cavan's only hope is for both Armagh and Roscommon to lose, which would send the Orchard County down instead.
Louth have already booked their place in the final and are waiting to see if it's Leitrim or Fermanagh who will be joining them.
Fermanagh have an extra point and the head-to-head advantage so would only miss out if they lose to Lancashire in Dublin and Leitrim beat Warwickshire in Mayo.
Watch Cork v Galway in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
