Home comfort for Tipp in league openers
By Shane Brophy
The Tipperary senior hurlers will officially launch the 2020 Allianz National Leagues when they host Munster champions Limerick in a mouth-watering opening game to the hurling league next January.
The January 25th fixture will the first of consecutive Saturday evening games to get the division 1A of league underway with Semple Stadium hosting the game for a 5.15pm start for television coverage, with the football league division 1 opener between Dublin and Kerry following at 7.15pm.
Liam Sheedy's charges will travel to Pairc Ui Chaoimh on February 1st at 7.00pm to face Cork with a weekend break before they head to Pearse Stadium to face Galway on Sunday 16th February.
MacDonagh Park, Nenagh will host the round 4 game against Westmeath on Sunday 23rd February at 2.00pm with Tipperary's first championship opponents Waterford coming to Thurles the following Sunday, 1st March.
The format of next years league has changed and should Tipperary top the group, they will progress straight to the semi-finals on 15th March. Should they finish second or third, they will play a quarter final from teams in division 1B on 7-8 March. That weekend will also see the relegation playoff between the bottom teams in divisions 1A & 1B with the loser dropping to division 2. The National League final is down for Sunday 22nd March.
Gaelic Football
David Power's senior footballers will begin their first campaign in division 3 since 2017 when they host Down in Clonmel Sportsfield on Sunday 26th January.
It's the first of three home games out of seven, with two long raod trips to follow on Sunday 2nd February at 2.00pm against Louth in Drogheda before heading to Owenbeg to face Derry on Sunday 9th February at 1.00pm.
They will have a weekend break before they welcome Cork to Semple Stadium on Saturday 22nd February at 7.00pm. They hit the road again on Sunday 1st March to face Longford (2.00pm) with their final home game being against Offaly in Thurles on Sunday 15th March at 2.00pm. The final game will be away to Leitrim in Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday 22nd March at 2.00pm.
The league is quite straightforward with the top two progressing to the final on Saturday 28th March and automatically promoted with the bottom two teams relegated.
Masters Fixtures Plan
The National League fixtures were released as part of the GAA's Masters Fixtures Plan for 2020 which confirmed a number of changes for the coming year.
The “Winner on the Day” will be extended to the following games for 2020 to give more certainty to club schedules: