Draws made for Leinster and Munster hurling championship
All-Ireland SHC final rivals Kilkenny and Galway could meet again in next year's Leinster SHC final, after the draws for the provincial Senior Hurling Championships were made tonight.
The 2013 Hurling Championship draws took place at Croke Park and were broadcast live on RTÉ Two television.
Reigning Leinster champions Galway will have to wait until the semi-final stage to launch their title defence, awaiting the winners of a series of games involving Antrim, Westmeath, Laois, Carlow and Leinster first-timers London.
The other side of the Leinster draw is undoubtedly the more difficult one with All-Ireland kingpins Kilkenny facing Offaly in one quarter-final, while Anthony Daly's Dublin tackle Wexford in the other one.
Unless the other counties can cause a shock, the 2013 Leinster final looks set to be a repeat of this year's decider which saw Galway claw the Cats by 10 points to win the competition for the first time.
The last county other than Galway or Kilkenny to lift the Bob O'Keeffe Cup was Wexford back in 2004. Brian Cody's men had seven straight Leinster successes between 2005 and 2011.
Meanwhile, reigning champions Tipperary are just 70 minutes away from reaching their third successive Munster SHC final.
Tonight's Munster draw has paired Tipperary and Limerick together at the semi-final stage, the game marking Eamon O'Shea's Championship debut as Tipp boss.
Tipperary beat John Allen's Shannonsiders by 2-20 to 1-19 in their Munster quarter-final encounter this year.
The two counties have had quite a few Championship meetings in recent seasons - including that epic trilogy in 2007 and Tipp's facile All-Ireland semi-final victory in 2009.
There is also a familiar look to the Clare v Waterford quarter-final clash. It is a repeat of their encounter in the 2012 Munster Championship which the Déise won on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
Jimmy Barry-Murphy's Cork side will await the winners of the rematch between Clare and Waterford next summer.
Three of the last four Munster finals have been Tipperary-Waterford affairs, but Davy Fitzgerald's Clare could come of age in 2013 or Cork might make the breakthrough in Barry-Murphy's second season back in charge.
2013 LEINSTER SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW -
Preliminary Round: Antrim v Westmeath
First Round: Antrim/Westmeath v Laois, Carlow v London
Quarter-Finals: Antrim/Westmeath/Laois v Carlow/London, Offaly v Kilkenny, Wexford v Dublin
Semi-Finals: Galway v Antrim/Westmeath/Laois/Carlow/London, Offaly/Kilkenny v Wexford/Dublin
2013 MUNSTER SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW -
Quarter-Final: Clare v Waterford
Semi-Finals: Tipperary v Limerick, Cork v Clare/Waterford
