Cork face a familiar foe in Meath needing points to stay in the promotion hunt

In Division 2, where half the teams change every year, Cork and Meath have been almost ever-present across the past decade.

For the ninth time in 10 years, the Rebels and Royals will compete together in the off-Broadway tier. 

This time, they reunite with legitimate promotion prospects.

The odd year out across the past decade was 2020, when Cork spent a season in Division 3 convalescence, while Meath got to sample Division 1 dining.

Otherwise, there has been little to separate the combatants of a once-mighty rivalry. 

With five All-Ireland finals fought against each other, theirs is the most common Sam Maguire pairing not involving either Kerry or Dublin.

In seven out of those nine Division 2 campaigns, Meath have finished above Cork. 

The Easterners’ average finishing position has been fourth against Cork’s fifth. 

Only once has more than two points split these counties in the final standings.

In head-to-head games, there has been nothing to divide them. 

Three wins for Cork, three wins for Meath, and one draw.

Four points has been the most common winning margin. 

All three of Cork’s victories have come by that cushion; in 2018, ‘24, and ‘25. 

Meath’s 2023 success was also achieved with four points to spare, as was their championship triumph last summer.

Their decade of Division 2 meetings began at Páirc Uí Rinn in 2017, when Meath mounted a comeback from eight points behind to rescue a draw. The player turnover is such that only Ian Maguire, Ruairí Deane, Donal Keoghan, and Bryan Menton remain.

Both sides will hope this Páirc Uí Rinn return will mark the beginning of the end of their top-tier exile.

Cork’s best points tally in Division 2 was the eight they compiled to finish fifth last spring. On Sunday, they could equal that total with three games to spare.

While their late show against Cavan was a daredevil escape, they can take encouragement from the relative efficiency of their five-point victories over Louth and Offaly. 

They have not put wins back-to-back like that with so little fuss since 2023.

Last year, John Cleary started a near-identical team for their opening three games. Only injuries to keeper Micheál Aodh Martin and Seán Powter meant that any changes were made.

This time around, there have been 21 different starters across those three games, with 26 players seeing game-time. 

Conor Corbett could make that 27 on Sunday.

Last year, the Clyda Rovers talent didn’t recover fully in time to get onto the field. 

Fellow injury-victim Luke Fahy saw just 14 minutes of the entire season. Steven Sherlock was taking a year out. Dara Sheedy was with the U20s.

They have all breathed new energy into Rebel training sessions, layering on their talents around a settled core. 

The presence of Sherlock and Sheedy has injected a palpable urgency into the battle for places up front. 

It’s the type of shake-up and sense of momentum Cork needed to kick on.

All that said, Cork’s most difficult fixtures lie ahead, beginning with the visit of last year’s All-Ireland semi-finalists on Sunday.

While Cork and Meath have shared a catalogue of similarities across the past decade, Robbie Brennan’s side broke from the pack with their 2025 triumphs over Dublin, Kerry, and Galway. 

That record helps to dispel previous inconsistencies. Division 1 football would appear to be the next logical step.

While Páirc Tailteann is being redeveloped, playing their home games at Croke Park will help them for the summer ahead. 

But it won’t prepare them for Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday, especially after the past week’s weather.

They have still shown commendable steel along the way. Jack Flynn has been required to kick last-gasp two-point winners to exchange defeat for victory against Cavan and Louth this month.

All-Star Seán Rafferty, Seán Coffey, and Ciarán Caulfield are defenders capable of clamping down on opposition aspirations.

Up front, Flynn is joined by a cohort of talented forwards in Jordan Morris, Ruairí Kinsella, and Mathew Costello, although the latter is rated a “big doubt” due to injury. 

By comparison, Brian Hurley and Brian O’Driscoll’s knocks sounded like more optimistic updates from Cleary.

Whoever wins will gain a significant cushion at the summit. 

They will go two points clear of their opponents and pocket the trump card for any head-to-head tiebreaker. 

They would stay at least two ahead of Derry and three up on Tyrone with three games remaining.

Given that Cork face those two trips north in March, home points become increasingly critical. 

If need comes into the equation, they could have the edge. 

Fan turnout may be another factor down the stretch.