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Meath were expected to win the Ring Cup last year but missed on the final. They'll be looking to put that right this year. Meath's tough year last year is a warning for Kerry who have fallen from contesting Joe Mac finals. Ring runners-up Derry lost out in the D2 relegation battle to London who beat them in last year's Ring final. Derry have made 3 consecutive Ring finals. They'll be in for a tougher battle this year with both Kerry and Meath to contend with.
Wicklow off the back of their smash and grab in the D3 final will be looking to cause a few upsets. They narrowly missed out on last year's final. Donegal had notable results against Kerry (league) and Meath (championship) last year. A key result for them this year was pipping Roscommon for promotion. Roscommon complete the Ring line up after promotion last year.
Meath, Kerry and Derry after their spring in D2 are expected to challenge for the final. Wicklow, Donegal and Roscommon likely to battle to retain Ring status first and maybe even cause an upset or two along the way. The group stage starts on April 11th.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 30/03/2026 16:53:34
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Its a very challenging group all round.
Sure Kerry might be favourites ? But there are some heavy hitters who might not win it but could stop Kerry from winning it.
And as for Wicklow ?? Well we have Donegal up first. And after last Saturday I can safely say they are a team you would not want to be playing every week.
sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2992 - 30/03/2026 17:25:49
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Replying To legendzxix: "Meath were expected to win the Ring Cup last year but missed on the final. They'll be looking to put that right this year. Meath's tough year last year is a warning for Kerry who have fallen from contesting Joe Mac finals. Ring runners-up Derry lost out in the D2 relegation battle to London who beat them in last year's Ring final. Derry have made 3 consecutive Ring finals. They'll be in for a tougher battle this year with both Kerry and Meath to contend with.
Wicklow off the back of their smash and grab in the D3 final will be looking to cause a few upsets. They narrowly missed out on last year's final. Donegal had notable results against Kerry (league) and Meath (championship) last year. A key result for them this year was pipping Roscommon for promotion. Roscommon complete the Ring line up after promotion last year.
Meath, Kerry and Derry after their spring in D2 are expected to challenge for the final. Wicklow, Donegal and Roscommon likely to battle to retain Ring status first and maybe even cause an upset or two along the way. The group stage starts on April 11th." The draw hasn't been kind to Roscommon. They have the two big fish at home and they are their only home games unfortunately. They have a nice team but they are a bit light weight for this division. I think they will struggle physically to compete with the big boys and even the other 3. A lot will depend on whether Conor Cosgrove comes back in at 6. He was travelling for the league and noone seems to know if he's committing for the ring. Their FB line is poor under the high ball too. I home im wrong but I think they will go down.
Kerry will top the group comfortably and Meath will finish second. There isnt a lot between Donegal and Wicklow and I know nothing about Derry but I expect it to be a Kerry v Meath final with Kery winning it out.
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 235 - 30/03/2026 17:31:11
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Replying To legendzxix: "Meath were expected to win the Ring Cup last year but missed on the final. They'll be looking to put that right this year. Meath's tough year last year is a warning for Kerry who have fallen from contesting Joe Mac finals. Ring runners-up Derry lost out in the D2 relegation battle to London who beat them in last year's Ring final. Derry have made 3 consecutive Ring finals. They'll be in for a tougher battle this year with both Kerry and Meath to contend with.
Wicklow off the back of their smash and grab in the D3 final will be looking to cause a few upsets. They narrowly missed out on last year's final. Donegal had notable results against Kerry (league) and Meath (championship) last year. A key result for them this year was pipping Roscommon for promotion. Roscommon complete the Ring line up after promotion last year.
Meath, Kerry and Derry after their spring in D2 are expected to challenge for the final. Wicklow, Donegal and Roscommon likely to battle to retain Ring status first and maybe even cause an upset or two along the way. The group stage starts on April 11th." Alot will depend if Wicklow have their best hurlers playing for the county in the Ring. If they do they will be competitive enough.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19309 - 31/03/2026 10:50:07
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Replying To Tadhg2020: "The draw hasn't been kind to Roscommon. They have the two big fish at home and they are their only home games unfortunately. They have a nice team but they are a bit light weight for this division. I think they will struggle physically to compete with the big boys and even the other 3. A lot will depend on whether Conor Cosgrove comes back in at 6. He was travelling for the league and noone seems to know if he's committing for the ring. Their FB line is poor under the high ball too. I home im wrong but I think they will go down.
Kerry will top the group comfortably and Meath will finish second. There isnt a lot between Donegal and Wicklow and I know nothing about Derry but I expect it to be a Kerry v Meath final with Kery winning it out." Well I will tell you something now, Limerick might have won all those cups.....
but that is because they did not meet Wicklow along the way.
sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2992 - 31/03/2026 11:52:18
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Replying To sponger: "Well I will tell you something now, Limerick might have won all those cups.....
but that is because they did not meet Wicklow along the way." They do say that it is not easy to come out of Aughrim alive!
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 235 - 31/03/2026 13:32:58
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Will be a fine achievement if we can retain Ring Cup status. Big player turn over once again while lots of good Hurlers in late 20s, early 30s chose not to commit has left us with a mainly young and light team team lacking in bench options. In our most recent game Donegal was more physical than us cutting through our defence all too easy. Meath,Kerry would be more physical than Donegal.
We beat Wicklow in the league but Wicklow were extremely wasteful that day and are unlikely to repeat that when at home to us. We play Derry away first, just one game they won in Division 2 which was against our neighbours Mayo by 10 points.
The_analyser (Roscommon) - Posts: 4345 - 31/03/2026 14:31:37
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Replying To The_analyser: "Will be a fine achievement if we can retain Ring Cup status. Big player turn over once again while lots of good Hurlers in late 20s, early 30s chose not to commit has left us with a mainly young and light team team lacking in bench options. In our most recent game Donegal was more physical than us cutting through our defence all too easy. Meath,Kerry would be more physical than Donegal.
We beat Wicklow in the league but Wicklow were extremely wasteful that day and are unlikely to repeat that when at home to us. We play Derry away first, just one game they won in Division 2 which was against our neighbours Mayo by 10 points." Will be a fine achievement alright. Roscommon were in the Division 3 promotion which bodes well. Difficult start playing the top 3 first. The final 2 games are the important ones.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 01/04/2026 12:54:32
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Donegal - Wicklow will be looking to gain an early advantage in securing their place in the Ring. Kerry understandably the favourites but that doesn't guarantee anything. Kerry beat Meath to earn promotion to 1B. I'd be concerned if playing Meath 3 times, at least one of those mightn't go Kerry's way. Roscommon travel to Derry. A tough opening assignment for the '25 Rackard winners against the '25 Ring finalists.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 09/04/2026 11:13:41
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Round 1 went as expected.
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 235 - 12/04/2026 18:02:35
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Wicklow would've been expected to put it up to Donegal. Puts Wicklow under relegation pressure. Good win for Kerry. Derry up and running as well as they look to get back to another Ring final.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 12/04/2026 19:45:40
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Replying To legendzxix: "Wicklow would've been expected to put it up to Donegal. Puts Wicklow under relegation pressure. Good win for Kerry. Derry up and running as well as they look to get back to another Ring final." Wicklow robbed Donegal in the league. Donegal were at home this time and they had something to put right. Not looking good for Roscommon unfortunately. They play Wicklow in Aughrim.
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 235 - 12/04/2026 20:10:26
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Replying To Tadhg2020: "Wicklow robbed Donegal in the league. Donegal were at home this time and they had something to put right. Not looking good for Roscommon unfortunately. They play Wicklow in Aughrim." Beat Wicklow in Div 3 though so won't have any fear of them.
FrankieJoe (Wicklow) - Posts: 109 - 13/04/2026 08:17:40
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Defeated sides from round 1 often kick back in round 2. Derry have an early opportunity to look at securing their place in the Ring before looking at making a 4th consecutive final.
Donegal caused a shock in the league last year. They travel to Tralee looking to cause another upset. Meath and Wicklow are both looking to bounce back from opening day defeats.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 16/04/2026 21:16:16
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Disaster for us last week........
sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2992 - 17/04/2026 08:30:49
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Tier 3 Ring
Kerry beat Donegal and Wicklow beat Derry.
Tier 2 Joe Mac
Westmeath beat London. The big result yesterday was Down winning their Ulster championship clash against Antrim.
Tier 4 Rackard
Tyrone beat Mayo.
Championship hurling across all tiers has thrown up some interesting results and performances, including some performances in defeat deserving of great credit for those in the know.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 19/04/2026 16:49:51
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If Down v Antrim was something of an Ulster final, Derry v Donegal is something of an Ulster B final. Donegal were impressive in their trip to Kerry. Some in Kerry are predicting Donegal to make the final. Derry and Meath will have something to say about that. Derry after losing to Wicklow need to win. Wicklow after beating Derry will look to claim another scalp when they take on Meath. Roscommon host Kerry.
Tier 2 Joe Mac
London visit Down, Antrim travel to Laois and Westmeath host Carlow. A Carlow win will put them in a strong position for the final. An Antrim loss should be curtains for them.
Tier 3 Rackard
Tyrone after beating Mayo travel to Louth.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 23/04/2026 12:58:14
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Result in the Ballyforan sunshine Roscommon 1-18 Kerry 4-22. Very harsh scoreline on us for the effort put in. 5 points behind at half time and we cut the margin to two points early in the 2nd half. Kerrys fitness and better bench was a telling factor after that.
Our day probably summed up when we had two big goal chances in a minute not taken in the 2nd half then straight up the field Kerry went to score 2 goals in a minute. Padraig Boyle with 3-9 the best Hurling forward in this year's Christy Ring Cup?
Should we bring today's workmanlike performance into the Wicklow, Donegal games we'll give ourselves a decent chance of staying up.
The_analyser (Roscommon) - Posts: 4345 - 25/04/2026 14:40:09
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Replying To The_analyser: "Result in the Ballyforan sunshine Roscommon 1-18 Kerry 4-22. Very harsh scoreline on us for the effort put in. 5 points behind at half time and we cut the margin to two points early in the 2nd half. Kerrys fitness and better bench was a telling factor after that.
Our day probably summed up when we had two big goal chances in a minute not taken in the 2nd half then straight up the field Kerry went to score 2 goals in a minute. Padraig Boyle with 3-9 the best Hurling forward in this year's Christy Ring Cup?
Should we bring today's workmanlike performance into the Wicklow, Donegal games we'll give ourselves a decent chance of staying up." I was saying it pre-championship that Roscommon will have a good chance of staying up. Donegal and Roscommon have both given Kerry a good game. Wicklow's win over Derry last week complicates things a bit.
Derry's win over Donegal puts them back in final contention but they'll have to beat Meath. Wicklow host Meath tomorrow.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9654 - 25/04/2026 16:18:31
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