The All-Ireland champions face off against the Cats in search of their 11th trophy since 2018
By James Roulston Mooney
On Sunday, the Limerick senior hurlers will go head-to-head against Kilkenny in a final for the second time in under a year at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
John Kiely’s men hope to return the league title to the Treaty County for the first time since the deferred 2020 season.
Derek Lyng and his Kilkenny hurlers stand in their way, a team that will want to get their first piece of silverware in the post-Cody era.
Limerick enter the tie having downed the free-scoring Tipperary in their semi-final matchup, who Kilkenny suffered a six-point defeat to in the round-robin stage.
However, the Cats landed on their feet despite the defeat, bouncing back by beating their last four opponents by an average of 6.5 scores per game.
They took care of the one team Limerick failed to beat, Cork, in the last round and sit 70 minutes away from a strong statement of intent for the summer.
Limerick’s announced XV for Sunday sees five changes made to the side that dispatched of the league’s top scorers and is arguably their strongest starting team available.
Dan Morrissey starts at full-back, with the familiar faces of Sean Finn and Barry Nash alongside him in the corner-back slots.
Kyle Hayes returns to his starting wing-back berth, with Darragh O’Donovan and Gearoid Hegarty coming into the midfield and half-forward lines respectively.
Cian Lynch starts at 11, while Seamus Flanagan makes his return up front, flanked by Aaron Gillane and Peter Casey.
TJ Reid has been named on the Kilkenny bench at 26, while captain Eoin Cody, playmaker Adrian Mullen and defensive stalwart Tommy Walsh are among the players listed to start.
The Allianz National Hurling League Division One final will be available to watch on TG4 with coverage starting at 1:15 pm. Throw-in is at 2 pm.
