GAA opt for radical fixture revision

The GAA have decided on a radical solution to the fixture chaos in the Allianz National Hurling League resulting from the postponement of Sunday's Division One A game between Wexford and Cork because of a waterlogged Wexford Park.

That game has been refixed for this Sunday but, as a result, all the remaining games in Division One A have been deferred a week so that the final round of games can take place simultaneously on April 9th and not this Sunday as originally intended.

Although the final round in Division One B goes ahead on Sunday as scheduled, the quarter-finals and semi-finals of Division One of the Hurling League have also been postponed by a week, and will now take place on April 16th and April 23rd respectively.

The final takes place just a week later, which leaves the GAA open to some further fixture problems should any replays be necessary.

The hurling quarter-finals involve matches between the second and third-placed teams in the two sections of Division One and, with the final rankings completely up for grabs, no quarter-finals could be arranged until Division One A was also concluded.

Meanwhile, the ongoing fixture problem surrounding the Longford-Donegal tie in Division Two of the Football League has yet to be resolved, but the GAA have promised an announcement on that game before the end of the week.

Longford had ruled out playing the game this weekend because their under-21 team face Laois in the Leinster final this Sunday.

As expected, the postponed Tyrone-Cork tie in round three of Division One A of the Football League has been set for this Sunday in Omagh. Nicholas Murphy and Kevin O'Sullivan both return to the Cork line-up having appeared as substitutes during last Sunday's win over Fermanagh.

The revised schedule for the football and hurling leagues is as follows:

April 2nd: NHL Round Five - Division One B, Two A, Two B, Three A and Three B; April 9th: NHL Round Five - Division One A; NFL Round Seven; NHL Division Two and Three quarter-finals; April 16th: NFL semi-finals (Division One and Two); NHL Division One quarter-finals; Divisions Two and Three semi-finals; April 23rd: NFL Finals; NHL Division One semi-finals; April 30th: NHL Finals.

CORK (SF v Tyrone): A Quirke; M Prout, G Canty, K O'Connor; S Levis, G Spillane, A Lynch; D Hurley, D Kavanagh; C McCarthy, D Niblock, K McMahon; J Masters, N Murphy, K O'Sullivan.

LIMERICK (SH v Antrim): B Murray; D Reale, TJ Ryan, M Foley, O Moran, B Geary, D O'Grady; P O'Grady, D Ryan; M O'Brien, S Lucey, C Fitzgerald, A O'Shaughnessy, B Begley, M Keane.