Cork footballers face Kerry in Munster semi-final; hurlers will host Limerick

KEITH Ricken's Cork will face Jack O'Connor's Kerry in the Munster semi-final next May.

The Rebels were placed on the same side of the provincial draw as their great rivals, with Clare or Limerick meeting Waterford, now managed by Cork's Ephie Fitzgerald, or Tipperary in the other semi.

There will be a backdoor in the 2021 championship after the competition was held on a knockout basis for the last two seasons; Cork stunned Kerry in the '19 meeting but were hammered in the Munster final last summer.

On the hurling front, after two years of provincial knockout action, where Cork were beaten by Waterford and Limerick in successive Munster semi-finals, the GAA have reverted to the round-robin format for 2022.

That system proved popular in 2018 and '19, with the Rebels winning the Munster title in '18 and qualifying from the group in third-place the following summer.

The opening rounds are on the weekend of April 17, when Cork will host Limerick in a repeat of the 2021 All-Ireland final. Their last encounter at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in '18 finished in a draw.

Kieran Kingston's side won't have a game in the second phase of matches, before three successive bouts, away to Waterford, at home to Clare and on the road to Tipp. The Munster hurling final is pencilled in for Sunday, June 5.

The All-Ireland finals next summer will take place on July 17 and July 24, to allow for the split-season and ensure club championships can commence in August. The All-Ireland finals are the only games that can go to replays, the rest will be decided on the day.

Counties are permitted to return to training from December 8, with the preseason competitions back in place, the McGrath Cup for the Cork footballers and the Munster Hurling League. There is a 25-week programme of inter-county games.

The Allianz National Leagues throw-in from the last weekend of January, in the case of football, followed by hurling a week later.