The fixture schedules for next year’s Munster and Leinster SHC have been released.
All-Ireland champions Tipperary will start the defence of their title with a trip to Waterford, who recently appointed outgoing Tipp under-20 boss Liam Cahill as their new manager.
Munster title holders Limerick will travel to Pairc Chaoimh on the opening weekend of May 9/10 with Clare not entering the fray until a week later, when they travel to Tipperary.
The Munster Council opted against changing the fixture schedule which means that Cork and Clare will finish out the round robin phase with three games in as many weekends, the second successive year that Clare will be required to do so.
Leinster tweaked its system in 2019 so that no team played on more than two consecutive weekends. It has been retained for next year meaning that there will only be one game played on the weekends of May 23/24 and May 30/31.
"If we changed it to the Leinster model, you'd only have two games in-a-row,” Munster Council chairman Liam Lenihan explained. “But all five counties came back and said they wanted the draw that was there.
“I'd say it was to make room for the club championships as well. It goes around. The draw is done from 2018 to 2022 and everybody gets the three games [in-a-row] at one stage or another. The counties considered it and they said it was fair.”
For the third successive year, the Leinster Championship will start with a clash of Dublin and Kilkenny on the weekend of May 9/10, while Laois will entertain Galway in their return to top tier hurling after winning the Joe McDonagh Cup last year.
The following weekend, Eddie Brennan takes his side to face his native county in Nowlan Park for the first Kilkenny-Laois Championship tie since 1999 in what was Brian Cody’s first Championship game in charge of Kilkenny.
Having been given a bye in the first round, Wexford start the defence of their Leinster title at home to Dublin on May 16/17.
2020 Munster SHC
Round 1, May 9/10: Cork v Limerick, Waterford v Tipperary, Clare bye.
Round 2, May 16/17: Limerick v Waterford, Tipperary v Clare, Cork bye.
Round 3, May 30/31: Clare v Limerick, Waterford v Cork, Tipperary bye.
Round 4, June 6/7: Cork v Clare, Limerick v Tipperary, Waterford bye.
Round 5, June 13/14: Tipperary v Cork, Clare v Waterford, Limerick bye.
2020 Leinster SHC
Round 1, May 9/10: Dublin v Kilkenny, Laois v Galway, Wexford bye.
Round 2, May 16/17: Kilkenny v Laois, Wexford v Dublin, Galway bye.
Round 3, May 23/24: Wexford v Galway; May 30/31: Dublin v Laois, Kilkenny bye.
Round 4, June 6/7: Laois v Wexford, Galway v Kilkenny, Dublin bye.
Round 5, June 13/14: Kilkenny v Wexford, Galway v Dublin, Laois bye.
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