Limerick make three changes

Limerick re-introduce three forwards for Sunday's second Munster hurling semi-final replay against Tipperary - a game fast heading towards a 50,000-sell-out at the Gaelic Grounds.

Mike Fitzgerald, Brian Begley and Seán O'Connor all come into the attack from the team that started in Thurles last Saturday. Fitzgerald's place at left-half forward is no surprise given he scored 1-2 after replacing Barry Foley at half-time the last day, and Begley is recalled to his familiar full forward berth.

O'Connor returns to the left corner forward position after missing the first replay with a hamstring injury - which means the players to miss out are Foley, Pat Tobin and midfielder Peter Lawlor, as Mike O'Brien drops back to the number eight position to allow for Fitzgerald's recall.

It means that team captain James O'Brien will again start on the bench.However, manager Richie Bennis is sure to call on all five substitutes once again as he attempts to put Tipperary away on the third time of asking - and secure a first Munster championship win since 2001.

In football, Galway manager Peter Ford makes one enforced change from the team that stunned Mayo 2-10 to 0-9 in May for Sunday's Connacht semi-final against Leitrim at Carrick-on-Shannon.

Diarmuid Blake returns to the centre back position in place of Niall Coyne, who was ruled out with an eye injury. Seán Armstrong must be content with a place on the bench, despite recovering from a hamstring injury, as Cormac Bane holds on to his position in the full-forward line.

Derry will start their Ulster semi-final against Monaghan in Belfast with one enforced change from the team that beat Antrim - while also re-introducing Paddy Bradley into the forward line. As expected, wing back Paul Cartin misses out due to a knee cruciate ligament injury - which has ended his football interest for the rest of the season - and his place goes to Patsy Bradley.

Paddy Bradley also takes over from Barry McGoldrick in the half-forward line, although he is expected to start in the full-forward line, having been a substitute in the Antrim game following some uncertainty as to his availability due to a 12-week suspension, the appeal against which was upheld by the Dispute Resolution Authority.

The Dublin football management have declined to comment on the prospect of a late change for Sunday's Leinster football semi-final against Offaly at Croke Park.

Forward Diarmuid Connolly played with the Dublin under-21 hurlers in Wednesday evening's Leinster semi-final win over Wexford, prompting immediate speculation that he'd been dropped for Sunday's game - despite being announced in Paul Caffrey's team the night before.

With Mark Vaughan set to start again at centre forward, it appears Jason Sherlock is being preferred to Connolly, now that the 1995 AllIreland winner has recovered from a wrist strain. All the signs are Connolly is out and Sherlock in, despite Caffrey and his cohorts playing dumb.

Croke Park yesterday announced that a limited number of tickets for Sunday's game will go on sale tomorrow morning from 10am at the ticket office at the Cusack Stand.

Finally, the Galway hurlers have endorsed the home and away arrangement in the All-Ireland qualifiers - even though by the end of the current campaign they will have been away for six of the nine games.

Galway Hurling Board secretary John Fahey said that when the qualifier scheme was being drawn up, it was made clear that weaker counties should have more home games in as much as possible.

"We would be regarded as one of the stronger counties and this is the primary reason we have had to travel so much. But we knew that when the scheme was being drawn up," he said.

Fahey pointed out that Galway's perceived toughest games each year - Limerick, Waterford and, this season, Clare - were away from home. "But that is just the luck of the draw. I don't believe neutral venues are an option, it is hard enough to get crowds to the qualifiers."

LIMERICK(SH v Tipperary): B Murray; D Reale, S Lucey, S Hickey; M O'Riordan; B Geary, M Foley; M O'Brien, D O'Grady; N Moran, O Moran, M Fitzgerald; A O'Shaughnessy, B Begley, S O'Connor.

GALWAY(SF v Leitrim): P Doherty; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, D Burke; M Comer, D Blake, D Meehan; J Bergin, N Coleman; D Savage, J Fallon, N Joyce; M Meehan, P Joyce, C Bane.

DERRY(SF v Monaghan): B Gillis; M McGoldrick, K McCloy, G O'Kane; P Bradley, SM Lockhart, C McKeever; F Doherty, J Conway; P Bradley, C Gilligan, J Diver; R Wilkinson, E Muldoon, M Lynch.