Senior hurling relegation final will draws the crowds in Tipperary next Saturday

 A mammoth crowd is expected next Saturday in The Ragg for the Tipperary relegation hurling final between JK Brackens and Upperchurch Drombane. 

Both sides have their injury worries ahead of the game with Brackens pair Dean MacEnroe and key defender Tom Murphy missing last Saturday's county football semi final through injury. 

Upperchurch were without their county senior footballer Keith Ryan who picked up a knock ahead of the game while Jack Butler was flown home from the Middle East for the encounter last Saturday. 

As expected Paddy Cadell (Brackens) and Gavin Ryan (The Church) were both key players for their respective sides and the county senior hurling panelists (last season) will once more be expected to play key roles in the hurling game next Saturday. 

The vast majority on both panels are dual players and up to 14 players that lined out for the football semi final last Saturday will play hurling next Saturday. 

Both clubs have played out some close and hard fought tussles in recent times with JK Brackens beating a fancied Upperchurch enroute to their first ever Mid-Tipperary senior hurling title last year. 

Fast forward to the county hurling quarter final in Thurles, and Upperchurch turned the tables by beating Brackens and also beating them in the football championship within seven days.

This year the teams meet again in quick succession. On Saturday last JK Brackens beat Upperchurch by a single point in the county senior football semi final. 

Saturday's fixture will be the second relegation final of the season for Upperchurch, as the club's second team survived a scare from Kiladangan to retain their intermediate hurling status and relegate the northerners in that grade's relegation final. 

For JK Brackens a busy few days will continue on for another week whether they win, lose or draw - as they will take on Clonmel Commercials in the county senior football final the following weekend. 

For both Brackens and The Church players though, this game in the Ragg will represent a key turning point for their hurling ambitions in the years ahead. One stays senior, one goes down a grade. 

Many around Mid-Tipperary feel this match will draw one of the biggest hurling attendances in Tipperary this year. Expect a bumper crowd on Saturday afternoon, throw-in is at 1.30pm.