Cork Camogie: After recent setbacks, Rebels hope to find their form in All-Ireland series

Cork head to Galway on Saturday to take on the Tribeswomen in their opening round of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship.

The game throws-in at 2pm, and the Rebels will be hoping for a better result than their last visit to Kenny Park, Athenry.

They took on Galway at the same venue in the league earlier in the season, and it was a tension-filled game for the Rebels. They lost out by 0-18 to 1-9, a result that could have seen them relegated.

They were saved by Kilkenny’s win over Antrim, as thankfully, Cork remained in the top flight of the league.

While Galway were short several players that day, but it was nothing compared to Cork, who had only six of the side that played in their All-Ireland loss to the same county available for selection.

It has been a season of change for Cork and they've been hindered by injuries to key players.

The likes of Amy O’Connor, Clodagh Finn, Meabh Cahalane, Sorcha McCartan, and Ashling Thompson were among those not available at various stages in their league campaign.

O’Connor and Finn have yet to feature in the Rebel red this season. On that front, there is good news as O’Connor is available for selection and is likely to feature at some stage, if not in the starting 15.

Finn did come on for her club last Monday in their league final clash with Sarsfields second side and scored 2-4 but she is a bit off inter-county level yet. But as the season progresses, Finn is likely to come into the reckoning which can only be good news for manager Ger Manley.

Thompson picked up a serious elbow injury against Kilkenny in the league and is still a bit off returning to action.

They were also dealt another blow with Meabh Cahalane picking up a hamstring injury in training a few weeks ago, and she is also out of tomorrow’s game.

There was also a hope that the Mackey sisters – Pamela and Katrina – would return to the squad, but they have stepped away from camogie and are unlikely to even feature for their club, Douglas, this season. Ava McAuliffe and Anne Kearney are others who won’t feature as they are doing their Leaving Cert.

So, Cork go into this game as clear underdogs as they bid to upset the form book.

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Galway are the defending All-Ireland champions and will want to lay down a marker against the side they considered their biggest rivals for the title, and they like nothing better than beating Cork.

They have a talented squad with the likes of Carrie Dolan, Niamh Mallon, Olwen Rabbitte, and Dervla Higgins just some of the players they can call on. They have already won the league this year and will be determined to retain their All-Ireland crown come the end of the season.

The odds are stacked against Cork, but the Rebels love upsetting the odds.

Cork have plenty of talented players at their disposal with Libby Coppinger and Laura Hayes leading their defence.

Meabh Murphy was another to impress across the league, and Izzy O’Regan is back to her best after a serious injury kept her out of the 2025 campaign.

Orlaith Cahalane is a handful for any defence, as are McCartan and Saoirse McCarthy.

In some ways it’s a free hit for both sides in a group that also contains Tipperary and Waterford.

All four sides will qualify for the quarter-finals at the very least, with the top two going to the semi-finals.

In the other group the top two, most likely Kilkenny and Clare, will join the bottom two from Cork’s group in the quarter-finals.

So, while Cork and Galway will both be aiming for a winning start, they can still afford to experiment and look at a few players tomorrow.