Saturday, November 28th

All-Ireland SHC Semi-Final
Kilkenny v. Waterford, Croke Park, 6 p.m.

Sunday, November 29th

All-Ireland SHC Semi-Final
Limerick v Galway, Croke Park, 4 p.m.

TV

The RTÉ2 and RTÉ player will have live coverage of both semi-finals this weekend, as well as Sky Sports.

RTÉ2 will have full highlights of both games on Sunday at 9.30am at The Sunday Game.

Radio

Live coverage of both Sport and Sunday Sport games on RTE Radio 1.

Online

Live blogs on RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, and video highlights on social media.

Weather

The weather during the last weekend of November looks decent, with dry weather and isolated opportunity for bathing. At this time of year one can feel the cold that one might expect!

More detailed information about met.ie.

Donalg’s hurling predictions

Repeat the trick

Waterford may be the story of the championship so far.

The year 1959 burns into Daisy’s collective conscience. This is the last time Liam McCarthy has visited the banks of the Zuer River, and their appearance over the past two seasons suggests that it may take a few more years for them to reappear in that part of the Southeast.

After the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final, Waterford did not win this year – seven defeats and a draw.

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It is true that they had more than their fair share of luck at the time, and Aussie Gleeson’s “own goal” against Tipperary is perhaps the worst example – the ball easily six inches in front of the goal line.

But the statistics do not lie, and despite the defeat of Cork and Galway in the Alliance League campaign in the spring, most people do not give Liam Cahill a chance.

Despite Waterford’s record against the Rebels in the 21st century, their performance against Cork on the first day was amazing.

Although they lost to the much-loved Limerick team in the Monster final, Henry Shefflin told the Sunday game that Waterford had demonstrated the “manic attack” needed to exploit the top teams.

Tipper-native Cahill deserves a lot of credit for his first season in charge. The third Waterford manager in several seasons is making the impact he has wanted so far.

Derek McGrath believes the pain of failing to win a championship game in two seasons was evident in his performance against Cork, which turned out to be “a proud day for Waterford to be human”. pic.twitter.com/EFDCzsa6w1

– S TheSundayGame November 1, 2020

Awakens the monster

Kilkenny enters the game by doing justice to one of the mistakes of 2019.

Just before a disappointing day in the All-Ireland final against Tipperary, they had to watch as Wexford celebrated their Leinster title with some excitement last summer.

No two finals and no trophies Brian Cody’s return to the cats is not the usual one, and you can tell from the celebration of their defeat to Galway earlier this month, especially shortly after the final whistle, that it means something to the players in this group.

Like Dublin on the football side of the Eastern Province, a Leinster title has long meant a lot to the Kilkenny Hallers, but it was a little different.

Cats, it’s a puzzle this season. Dublin deviated from them in the first half of the provincial semi – final, giving Metropolitan a price of 15 points behind.

But then Kilkenny seemed to take their foot off the pedal, and Mattie grabbed them from Kenny’s side. Perhaps, Black and Amber were able to find an extra gear when it comes to dubs level.

In the opinion of Galway, the West was a big fight, but two quick goals were knocked out of them, including Richie Hogan’s real recovery moment.

A strong finish and the ability to lift it in the final stage was crucial in ensuring that Bob O’Keefe lived in Leinster.

Brian Cody is well aware of how to make the winner of the other semi-final a favorite for the final and he wants it to move on to this crucial stage of the championship.

Waterford enters the game for the first time since 1963.

Can Leinster compete?

A lot has been done about the decline of remote counties in Leinster football, but considering the impact it has had at the All-Ireland level, the same is true of the small ball game.

If we take Kilkenny out of the equation, the last Leinster County (sorry Galway!) To compete in the All-Ireland Final was Ophelia 2000 – 20 years ago.

The Leinster champions, especially when it comes to Kilkenny, always seem to have what Monster can throw, and with some justification for cats, they seem to love this game.

Under James Stephens, the Cody Cats have won 16 of the last 19 semi-finals.

But they also know that any kind of display in the second half against Dublin, or the first 50 minutes against Galway, will continue their wait for Liam to recover.

Donald Cossack told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “The extra week’s rest will be a boon for Kilkenny.

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The real All-Ireland final?

Sunday’s game is likely.

All the speeches coming out in 2020 were Tipperary trying to make back-to-back titles for the first time since the mid-1960s.

But over the past few seasons Limerick or Galway has been the “best team in the country” by many. Both have won All-Irelands, and then next season’s trophy lift felt like they were left behind.

Galway, after close in 2012 and 2015, finally landed on the promised land in 2017.

Meanwhile, Limerick, who ended a 45-year wait for an All-Ireland in 2018, hoisted the trio home 54 minutes after that final.

The tribe sings again

Galway’s 2019 was a memorable one as he threw a huge lead against Wexford before being caught in Dublin at Parnell Park.

But under the new manager Shane O’Neill in 2020, the Limerick man was very good at their performance, yet Leinster could have suffered a final defeat.

They beat Wexford in the Leinster semi-finals, and they recovered after a setback in the provincial decision, stopping the tip march to two lines.

O’Neill has Joe Canning to choose from this year, something that Michael Donogue didn’t have last year. Some on their team know that the chances for another All-Ireland medal are running out and if they can upset Sunday’s problems they will eliminate the chances against Kilkenny or Waterford.

Form team in the country

Liam McCarthy, second in three years, enters the last four as a favorite to claim.

Some Kerry seems to be expanding the Cute-Horror Border to Treaty City Kandy, but whatever you do it has been the most consistent team in the country for three years.

One All-Ireland, two Alliance League titles, two Munster Cups – no team has a better record.

Their All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kilkenny last year marked a nine-point start for the Cats 15 minutes later, but they were forced into extra time.

The late Darag O’Donoghue threw a kick on the sideline, but by the end of the 65 they had lost and missed the chance to level the game.

All they have to do against Claire, Tipperary and Waterford is look like the perfect professional in the three games they have played so far this season.

Everyone knows at this point the poor record of the Munster Champions at the All-Ireland level, having only doubled once in the last decade.

The Munster champion has only reached the All-Ireland final four times in the last 13 seasons.

But 2020 is different. Instead of the usual four- or five-week break for the semi-finals, Limerick has two weeks of excellent preparation time.

Can anyone prevent this form?

Watch Waterford v Kilkenny (Saturday 6pm) and Limerick v Galway (Sunday 4pm) live on RTÉ2, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 or follow our live blog on the RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app. Highlights of the Sunday game (9.30pm RTÉ2).