The more things change, the more they stay the same. Kilkenny don’t get a warm-up competition, miss a dozen players to club duty, move their Hurler of the Year from midfield to corner-forward, and an All-Star corner back into full back. But yet Richie Hogan goes and scores 11 points, Paul Murphy is excellent in the Number 3 shirt, and the production line keeps on rolling.
Kildare are the week’s big movers, up 3 places, after a fine win over Meath in Trim. Galway’s win over Clare sees them move into fourth, while the Banner go down to seventh, leapfrogged by Dublin who get a bounce from their win over Tipp.
| 1 | Kilkenny | 2279 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Tipperary | 2040 | |
| 3 | Cork | 1953 | |
| 4 | (+1) | Galway | 1913 |
| 5 | (-1) | Limerick | 1896 |
| 6 | (+1) | Dublin | 1892 |
| 7 | (-1) | Clare | 1873 |
| 8 | Waterford | 1771 | |
| 9 | Wexford | 1697 | |
| 10 | Offaly | 1587 | |
| 11 | Laois | 1462 | |
| 12 | Antrim | 1447 | |
| 13 | Kerry | 1412 | |
| 14 | Carlow | 1313 | |
| 15 | (+3) | Kildare | 1278 |
| 16 | (-1) | Down | 1269 |
| 17 | (-1) | Westmeath | 1268 |
| 18 | (-1) | Meath | 1199 |
| 19 | Derry | 1173 | |
| 20 | Wicklow | 1104 | |
| 21 | London | 1099 | |
| 22 | Mayo | 1035 | |
| 23 | Donegal | 944 | |
| 24 | Fingal | 925 | |
| 25 | Roscommon | 916 | |
| 26 | Tyrone | 874 | |
| 27 | Armagh | 847 | |
| 28 | Louth | 715 | |
| 29 | Fermanagh | 670 | |
| 30 | Monaghan | 645 | |
| 31 | Longford | 619 | |
| 32 | Warwicks | 532 | |
| 33 | Sligo | 381 | |
| 34 | Leitrim | 276 | |
| 35 | Lancashire | 250* |
We’ll be back later in the week with a preview of the Round 2 fixtures.