Kildare hurlers get 2018 campaign underway tomorrow as Walsh Cup begins

The Kildare hurlers will open their 2018 campaign before the year has even began when they take on Laois at the Manguard Plus Centre of Excellence tomorrow afternoon in the first round of the Walsh Cup.

The hurlers enjoyed a reasonably successful year in 2017 as they pushed hard for promotion in Division 2A of the National Hurling League, while their Christy Ring Cup ambitions were ended when they lost out to Carlow in the quarter-final of the competition.

This will be Limerick legend Joe Quaid's third year in the job, and he will be looking to build upon recent underage success in the county as he runs the rule over a sizeable Lilywhites panel that features a number of young players who have recently graduated from the minor age group.

Kildare will play Laois in their first game on Saturday before they take on Kilkenny on Sunday January 7. Speaking to KildareNow following the draw in November, Quaid said;

"Laois are a team that we kind of aspire to get up to their level and we need to get up to their level for the team to grow, but I suppose getting Kilkenny… it’s not every day a hurler from Kildare will get to line out against Kilkenny, so it’s a huge opportunity. At the end of the day the Walsh Cup is still only a pre season tournament that we’ll be using in preparation for our first league match against Meath on the 28th.”

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