Absolute spice in the qualifiers as Clare draw Wexford

Now we are hurling.

After a dull League, hurling sparked into life with the dawn of the championship last weekend and now with the All-Ireland final unbelievably less than six weeks away, the whole thing is heating up. The qualifier draw was always going to be a snake-pit when Galway, Clare, Cork, Waterford and Wexford were eliminated from the provincial championships and it was always going to happen wasn't it, that two of the big guns would face off. Both Davy Fitzgerald and Brian Lohan will feel unlucky to be in the qualifiers, rather than the provincial finals but here they are. The old teammates and current rivals will face off next weekend in what promises to be an absolute cracker. Laois will face Waterford buoyed by their victory over Antrim at the weekend while Cork and Galway got byes to the next round.

Hurling qualifier draw

Laois v Waterford Clare v Wexford Byes: Cork and Galway (Straight through to Round Two)