Preview- Galway test the ideal start as Kilkenny aim to hit ground running

After a mixed league campaign, Kilkenny now turn their attention to the Leinster Championship as they face into five games in the next six weeks with Saturday’s televised game with Galway in UPMC Nowlan Park kicking things off with a bang.

While the Cats are now into their 10th season since they last won the All-Ireland title, success in the province hasn’t abandoned them and they will go in search of a sixth title in a row.

While most eyes will be on the Munster fare with some big clashes to come, the Leinster equivalent does look like it could be very competitive this year and while Kilkenny have been well fancied in the last few years, the upcoming championship will definitely give them a couple of stern examinations.

Home form has been a huge thing in recent years and with three games on Noreside, Derek Lyng’s side will be confident that they will have enough in their armoury to qualify in the top two and make another Leinster decider.

Kilkenny and Galway have had an interesting history since the round-robin was created in 2018 with the Cats failing to defeat Galway at all thus far during the group stages although they have overcome the Connacht side in two Leinster finals during the same timeframe.

The last two round-robin affairs have been draws and you’d expect very little between the teams again this time round.

Galway defeated the hosts earlier this spring in the Allianz Hurling League and after failing to qualify from the round-robin last term, Michael Donoghue’s men will be eager to make a mark.

A win on day one would give Derek Lyng’s team a perfect early platform before they travel to Belfast to face Antrim in Corrigan Park a week later.

The Cats have had a pair of huge victories over the Saffron County in the last two years but the addition of Davy Fitzgerald as manager should bring a different dynamic to proceedings, even if Kilkenny will be expected to claim another big win.

The trip to Ulster will also be an important one in the fact it’s their last game before the only week off throughout the group stages of the Leinster championship.

Back-to-back home ties then follow with successive clashes against Offaly and Dublin before they round off the campaign with their routine final round meeting with Wexford in Chadwicks Wexford Park.

After losing to Offaly in last year’s Leinster under-20 championship Kilkenny will need no reminding the Faithful County have an upward trajectory behind them and the Joe McDonagh Cup holders will be eyeing up a scalp or two.

Kilkenny’s final two games see them take on the teams that also qualified from the round-robin in 2024 and in Dublin’s case it’s also a repeat of the Leinster final.

The Cats won that provincial decider in emphatic fashion but just weeks before they needed an Eoin Cody goal to gift them a late victory at a packed Parnell Park.

The Dubs have struggled to back up that display during the league and their record in Nowlan Park will see Kilkenny as big favourites.

If recent evidence is anything to go by, there will still be plenty on the line when near neighbours Kilkenny and Wexford collide in the final round for a game that usually brings plenty of drama.

Kilkenny left their best league display to their final game with Limerick and they will need similar if not more when they take to the field with Galway in opposition.

Tom Phelan is already out for the season but the other signs are more promising that Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen will be fit while David Blanchfield and Mikey Carey will be free after serving their red card suspensions.

Mossy Keoghan ended the league campaign as the top scorer from play in Division One and if the Tullaroan man can maintain that rich vein of form, then the Cats will be well set to offer a new dimension in attack alongside the ever reliable TJ Reid and that extra scoring power is probably needed.

Small things like not winning an All-Star even though they won the Leinster Championship in 2024 will be sure to motivate the side in black and amber and getting one over a county that has already tasted success in UPMC Nowlan Park this year would certainly be a good starting point.

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Fixtures
Saturday April 19 - Kilkenny v Galway in UPMC Nowlan Park at 3.45pm (Live on RTE 2)
Sunday April 27 - Antrim v Kilkenny in Corrigan Park, Belfast at 2pm
Saturday May 10 - Kilkenny v Offaly in UPMC Nowlan Park at 6pm
Sunday May 18 - Kilkenny v Dublin in UPMC Nowlan Park at 3pm (Live on GAA +)
Sunday May 25 - Wexford v Kilkenny in Chadwicks Wexford Park at 2pm