Hurling League Explainer: Why Division 1A is shaping up to be a real viper’s nest

Cian Lynch of Limerick lifts the cup after the Allianz Hurling League Final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Right, convince me: why is this year’s Allianz Hurling League going to be any different to the last few forgettable runnings?

There is jeopardy, plain and simple. Five of the 12 counties currently in Division 1, at least three of them Liam MacCarthy Cup teams, will be effectively relegated based on their league standing at the close of play on St Patrick’s Day.

Up to last year, just one team was going down. This year’s competition will bid a farewell to semi-finals, the top two in 1A and 1B facing off in them for one last time.

What’s more important is finishing in the top three. Those six along with the fourth-placed team with the best record will form the new seven-team top flight in 2025.

Back to the future, then?

Not exactly. The last time there were more than six teams in the first division was 2011 when there were eight but just one side was demoted. Since then, it has comprised two six-team groups, although 1A was a higher level up until 2018 when the top four in each qualified for quarter-finals. Four years ago, the teams were split into two groups of relatively equal strength.

And why has the league been failing?

It’s not coincidence that it has struggled since the Leinster and Munster championships became round-robin competitions in 2018. Compounding that was the fact that just one team was being relegated from Division 1 every year, meaning there was little incentive to win and large room to experiment.

Limerick’s indifferent approach to it in 2020 and ’21 raised eyebrows but they have also claimed three of the last five titles, while Clare (2022) and Wexford (’23) have also taken devil-may-care attitude to it in recent years.

Isn’t the second tier going to be called Division 1B?

Merely semantics, old stock. That second group of seven teams – five from the existing 1A and 1B and this year’s Division 2A finalists – will have no link with the new Division 1A other than promotion and relegation. From next season, the bottom two in Division 1A will be replaced by the top two in Division 1B. The top two teams in 1A in 2025 will contest the final.

Was their opposition to this rejig?

There certainly was. Antrim, Waterford and Wexford, possibly sensing they had the most to lose from a reformat, were all against the idea but the Central Competitions Control Committee’s argument that more value had to be add to the league convinced Central Council to back it. Giving each county a guarantee of three home games every year was a major selling point.

Are managers in favour of it?

Davy Fitzgerald would have preferred a return to the eight-team Division 1 while Cork’s Pat Ryan is enthused by the extra game and making the top three is the first goal for his team this year. “If you’re in that second division (Division 1B), it’s probably harder to prepare for what you might be facing in Munster…” John Kiely had previously stated that the league was “devalued”.

Wasn’t there supposed to be a play-off between the two fourth-placed teams?

That was in the initial proposal but it was scrapped and so the county that finishes fourth with the most points will make the cut. If both fourth-placed teams collect the same number of points, they will be split by (i) scoring difference, (ii) highest total score for, (iii) most goals for, (iv) least goals against. Failing that, there will be a play-off.

Is that fair?

There is an argument to say it’s not. This year’s Division 1A includes three Munster counties – Clare, Cork and Waterford – and Kilkenny, Offaly and Wexford, whereas Division 1B has two – Limerick and Tipperary – and Galway along with Antrim and Westmeath.

In 1B, Antrim have been competitive in two of their last three seasons in the top flight but they and Westmeath will be expected to finish outside the top four. On the face of it, it would appear easier for Limerick, Galway and Tipperary to pick up points in 1B than for 1A’s leading counties in what is certain to be a viper’s nest.

The counties were reshuffled between 1A and 1B this season based on their 2023 standings.

Anything else that might be considered unfair?

Waterford and Kilkenny and Antrim and Tipperary facing off in their final round games on March 16, a day before the rest of the teams in their groups.

As Clare go to Tullamore, Cork travel to Wexford, Westmeath head to Dublin and Galway are Limerick-bound, all of those eight teams will be at an advantage.

Take a stab at the finishing positions in the two Division 1 groups.

1A: Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Clare, Wexford, Offaly.

1B: Galway, Tipperary, Limerick, Dublin, Antrim, Westmeath.