Galway won’t replicate Tipperary showing, but winning ugly will do until September

The provincial championship in Leinster presents what is essentially a three-horse race this summer, writes Donal O’Grady.

Galway and Kilkenny are justifiable favourites for the final: Kilkenny will have a tricky assignment against Wexford but they should have learned enough to reverse their league defeat at the hands of the Slaneysiders.

It may not be easy. Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald will be in the stand, but this gives his team a cause, which is always a powerful motivator. Fitzgerald may actually find he gets a better overall view of the game from this vantage point which may be to his advantage tactically.