GAA gamble by bringing both provincial champions to Thurles

Gaelic Games: The GAA have take a big gamble on Semple Stadium hosting two of the higher profile All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals on Saturday week.

Cork will play Limerick at 5.15pm in Thurles, followed by Kilkenny against Galway at 7pm - with both games probably the pick of the four hurling quarter-finals, at least in terms of the expected crowds.

The following day Clare will travel to Croke Park to play Wexford at 2.15pm, followed by Waterford against Tipperary at 4pm. Those games aren't expected to draw as big a crowd - although Croke Park was always likely to be used for at least one of the double-bills.

With a capacity of around 53,000, Semple Stadium will be under pressure to cope with the anticipated level of support as the reigning All-Ireland's champions continue their quest for a third successive title, and Kilkenny and Galway offer a reprise of last year's classic semi-final.

The GAA realised the concerns, but in the end decided on Thurles - despite the fact that the participating counties are now expected to receive only approximately 11,000 tickets each.

"One thing to go on was last year's quarter-final double bill in Croke Park involving Cork and Waterford and Clare and Wexford," explained the GAA's information officer Fergal McGill.

"Those games drew around 52,000, which is roughly what we're expecting for these quarter-finals. And obviously Thurles made geographical sense."

It was expected that the Kilkenny-Galway match would go to Croke Park, but it now means both the Munster and Leinster provincial champions will play in Thurles on the Saturday, with the two beaten provincial finalists meeting the qualifier winners in Croke Park on the Sunday.

Yet, Cork don't mind at all playing in Thurles, at least according to wing back John Gardiner. In Dublin yesterday to collect his Vodafone Player of the Month award for June, Gardiner spoke about the venue and the prospect of playing Limerick - and avoiding Galway - in just under two weeks time.

"Thurles was probably the preference for us," he said. "Cork like playing there, and obviously it's handy for the two teams involved. It would have been a little ludicrous to take us to Croke Park when Thurles was just as good a venue for an AllIreland quarter-final.

"And we're not concerned about getting a game in Croke Park at this stage. Maybe it could work against other teams that hadn't been there before, but this Cork team has played there on plenty of occasions and know what it's all about."

Cork were set to face either Galway or Limerick going into Sunday's draw for the quarter-finals, and while Gardiner appeared a little relieved at the mention of avoiding Galway, he certainly wasn't playing down the challenge of Limerick.

"There's no such thing as an easy game in the quarter-final, so all we've being doing all along is concentrating on our own game. I suppose we do have to be pleased enough though, especially avoiding a team we've played already.

"That's always difficult when they know you so well. I feel Tipperary had us down to a T the last day and played us very, very well, so it would be have difficult to meet them again.

"But Limerick will be far from easy. They had that excellent run in the league, and for some reason things fell apart there in the first matches in the championship. But they've rebuilt themselves and are looking very strong again.

"We've haven't had a chance to talk about it yet, but we were always expecting a tough game and Limerick will definitely present that.

"And I mean the whole season lifts off from here. Winning the Munster championship meant a lot to us, but the best eight teams are together now, and that's real championship stuff.

"But we've been back training collectively for a week or so since the Munster final. I still don't think we've been playing well as a team yet, as a unit. Experience got us over the line in the end against Tipperary, so we will be looking to improve on what we can do as a team. But the hunger is definitely there."

Cork are now just three games away from that historic third successive All-Ireland, but still the team are only thinking short term. "You all seem to think Cork will be there in the shake-up, and we do too," added Gardiner. "So we're just looking forward to the quarter-final now. You don't get into the All-Ireland final or semi-final without winning here.

"But it's still a bit early for talk of three-in-a-row. We see it as our third quarter-final in a row, so we're happy to talk about that. Maybe the three-in-a-row will be spoken about a little more if we make the All-Ireland final."

The Vodafone Football Player of the Month award went to Dublin forward Conal Keaney, one of the main playmakers in their Leinster semi-final win over Laois.

It was the second such award for Keaney, who'd previously won the hurling version back in February 2003 after his contribution to Dublin's Walsh Cup success.

The relegation final between Dublin and Westmeath, which decides which team will drop to the Christy Ring Cup next year, is set for Tullamore this Saturday (2pm).

The four venues for round three of the football qualifiers were straightforward as the first team drawn on Sunday night had home advantage.

The Meath v Laois game in Navan - which has a throw-in time of 6pm - is expected to be shown live on RTÉ television.

The other three games have 7pm starts, with Longford at home to Derry, Sligo to Westmeath and Fermanagh to Wexford.