Rebels facing Capital start

Cork will begin the defence of their Division 1 title with a visit to Dublin next February but, at the other end of the scale, Kilkenny have elected to pull out of the competition.

After finishing bottom of Division 4 with no points for the fourth year in a row, with no points and a negative difference of 239 points — including a 46-point defeat to Fermanagh — the county board unanimously voted on Monday night to quit the league.

They have also decided to withdraw from the Leinster junior championship as well as the U21 competition, a competition in which Louth inflicted upon them a 50-point defeat in February.