Allen grateful to grasp short straw

Even before the final whistle had sounded in the recent Leinster final, Galway’s big win already a foregone conclusion, it was being whispered: “God, after the manner of this beating, I’d hate to be the team Kilkenny meet in the All-Ireland quarter-final!”

That team was decided on yesterday morning, the pairings for the two quarter-finals drawn. Facing Waterford, beaten Munster finalists, are Cork; facing Kilkenny, Limerick.

So be it, said Limerick manager John Allen. “It’s us, but look, no matter how you think about it, if you want to make progress, if you want to be considered their peers, you’re going to have to play Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway. So here we are, we’re playing Kilkenny.