Cork and Tipp league clash could break attendance record

The 23,402 crowd which watched Cork play Limerick at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year was the largest attendance for a standalone hurling league fixture in recent times

A crowd of 25,000 is expected to watch Cork face Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday night. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Saturday’s Cork-Tipperary Division 1A clash in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh could break the record attendance for a standalone round National Hurling League game in the modern era.

A crowd of 25,000 is expected to watch last year’s All-Ireland finalists renew acquaintances. No stand tickets are currently on sale with only terrace admission for the Blackrock End available.

The 23,402 crowd which took in the Cork-Limerick Round 2 game in Ballintemple last year was the largest in recent times. The previous season, the same clash drew 19,516 to the venue.

The terraces for last Sunday week’s hurling and football Round 1 double-header wins over Waterford and Cavan in Páirc Uí Chaoimh were opened the day before the fixtures, and a crowd of 20,464 was recorded.

Eight years ago, 16,189 was present to watch Cork’s opening day win over Kilkenny in Páirc Uí Chaoimh as the county’s and Tipperary’s footballers played on the undercard.

At the peak of their rivalry, Tipperary and Kilkenny’s postponed league game eventually brought 20,254 to Semple Stadium in March 2010.

The year before, 12,000 watched Kilkenny thrash Cork by 27 points in Nowlan Park a few weeks after Gerald McCarthy had stepped down as manager following the standoff with the previous year’s panel.

As part of a double bill with the Division 1B final between Waterford and Offaly, the Cork-Tipperary Division 1A decider attracted 43,243 to Páirc Uí Chaoimh last April. That surpassed the 42,030 figure for the 2011 Dublin-Kilkenny equivalent in Croke Park.

Meanwhile, Wicklow manager Oisín McConville has bemoaned the absence of the clock/hooter and the lack of leading referees being appointed in lower divisional National Football League matches.

On BBC’s GAA Social podcast, Armagh’s 2002 All-Ireland SFC winner highlighted teams in Division 3 and 4 weren’t being officiated the same as those in the top two groups.

"I would just love to see us have the same conditions as Division 1 and 2. I mean, when these rules came on, one of the big selling points was that it (clock/hooter) would pass down, even to club football. That hasn't been the case.

"Some week, I would just love to have the some of the top referees, top refereeing team, come down and referee in Division 4. My point was is Division 4 not as important as Division 1? It's obvious it's not. Not for me, it's not. I see what goes into it for players, and I do think that they deserve better, to be honest.”