The 2017 National Hurling League was the 86th season of the
National Hurling League for
county team
A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has ...
s.
Clare were the defending champions, winning the title for the first time since
1977–78 after a 1–23 to 2–19 win against Waterford in a replay on 8 May 2016.
Eir Sport
Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republi ...
(formerly Setanta) and
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
provide live coverage of the league on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons respectively, with highlights shown on ''GAA 2017'' during the week.
RTÉ2
RTÉ2 is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 as the Republic of Ireland's second television channel.
History
In the 1970s, the Iri ...
broadcasts highlights programme ''Allianz League Sunday'' on Sunday evenings.
In the Division 1 final on 23 April,
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
won the title after a 3–21 to 0–14 win against
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
at the
Gaelic Grounds
The Gaelic Grounds, know for sponsorshop reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the Irish city of Limerick, home to the Limerick hurling and football teams. It has a capacity of 44,023.
History
9 October 1926 saw ...
.
Format
League structure
Thirty three teams compete in the 2017 NHL – six teams in the top four divisions (Divisions 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B), four teams in Division 3A and five teams in Division 3B. Thirty-one county teams from Ireland take part (Cavan do not).
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
complete the lineup.
Fingal were scheduled to compete in Division 3A but have withdrawn for 2017.
Each team plays all the other teams in their division once, either home or away in all divisions except Division 3A where a double round of fixtures are played. Two points are awarded for a win, and one for a draw.
On a pilot basis in 2017, the hurling quarter-finals and semi-finals will finish on the day the games are played avoiding the need for replays. If a quarter-final or semi-final is level after the initial seventy minutes, still level after two ten minute periods of extra time played each way, and still level after two further five minute periods of extra time, the outcome will be decided by a free-taking competition. This will prevent games from going to a replay and allow the league finals to be held on the scheduled date.
Tie-breaker
* If only two teams are level on league points, the team that won the head-to-head match is ranked ahead. If this game was a draw, score difference (total scored minus total conceded in all games) is used to rank the teams.
* If three or more teams are level on league points, score difference is used to rank them.
Finals, promotions and relegations
Division 1A
* The top four teams qualify for the Division 1 quarter-finals
* The bottom two teams meet in a relegation play-off, with the losing team relegated to Division 1B
Division 1B
* The top team is promoted to Division 1A
* The top four teams qualify for the Division 1 quarter-finals
* The bottom two teams meet in a play-off, with the losing team relegated to Division 2A
Division 2A
* The top two teams meet in Division 2A final, with the winning team promoted to Division 1B
* The bottom team is relegated to Division 2B
Division 2B
* The top two teams meet in Division 2B final, with the winning team being promoted to Division 2A
* The bottom two teams meet in a play-off, with the losing team relegated to Division 3A
Division 3A
* The top two teams meet in Division 3A final, with the winning team promoted to Division 2B
Division 3B
* The top two teams meet in Division 3B final, but the winner is not promoted
Division 1A
Division 1 Format
The 12 teams in Division 1 are ranked into two groups of six teams named Division 1A and Division 1B. Each team play all the other teams in its group once. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. The top four teams in 1A and 1B advance to the league quarter-finals with the top team in Division 1A playing the fourth team in Division 1B, the second team in Division 1A playing the third in Division 1B, etc.
Division 1A Table
Division 1A Rounds 1 to 5
Division 1A Round 1
Division 1A Round 2
Division 1A Round 3
Division 1A Round 4
Division 1A Round 5
Division 1B
Division 1B Table
Division 1B Rounds 1 to 5
Division 1B Round 1
Division 1B Round 2
Division 1B Round 3
Division 1B Round 4
Division 1B Round 5
Division 1 Knockout
Division 1 Quarter-Finals
On a pilot basis in 2017, the hurling quarter-finals will finish on the day the games are played avoiding the need for replays. If the score is level after the initial seventy minutes, still level after two ten minute periods of extra time played each way, and still level after a further two five minute periods of extra time, a free-taking competition will be held. Each team will nominate five players to take frees from their chosen position on the sixty five metre line. If the teams score an equal number of the five frees, the outcome of the match will be decided by sudden death frees using the same nominated players in the same order.
Division 1 Semi-Finals
On a pilot basis in 2017, the hurling semi-finals will finish on the day the games are played avoiding the need for replays. If the score is level after the initial seventy minutes, still level after two ten minute periods of extra time played each way, and still level after a further two five minute periods of extra time, a free-taking competition will be held. Each team will nominate five players to take frees from their chosen position on the sixty five metre line. If the teams score an equal number of the five frees, the outcome of the match will be decided by sudden death frees using the same nominated players in the same order.
Division 1 Final
Division 1A relegation play-off
Division 1B relegation play-off
Division 1 Scoring Statistics
;Top scorer overall
;Top scorers in a single game
Division 2A
Division 2A Table
Division 2A Rounds 1 to 5
Division 2A Round 1
Division 2A Round 2
Division 2A Round 3
Division 2A Round 4
Division 2A Round 5
Division 2A Final
Division 2A Scoring Statistics
;Top scorer overall
;Top scorers in a single game
Division 2B
Division 2B Table
Division 2B Rounds 1 to 5
Division 2B Round 1
Division 2B Round 2
Division 2B Round 3
Division 2B Round 4
Division 2B Round 5
Division 2B Final
Division 2B relegation play-off
Division 2B Scoring Statistics
;Top scorer overall
;Top scorers in a single game
Division 3A
Division 3A Table
Fingal withdrew from hurling competitions in 2017, thereby reducing Division 3A from five to four teams. There was no relegation from Division 3A and a double round of games in this division was played.
Division 3A Rounds 1 to 6
Division 3A Round 1
Division 3A Round 2
Division 3A Round 3
Division 3A Round 4
Division 3A Round 5
Division 3A Round 6
Division 3A Final
Division 3A Scoring Statistics
;Top scorer overall
;Top scorers in a single game
Division 3B
Division 3B Table
Division 3B Rounds 1 to 5
Division 3B Round 1
Division 3B Round 2
Division 3B Round 3
Division 3B Round 4
Division 3B Round 5
Division 3B Final
Division 3B Scoring Statistics
;Top scorer overall
;Top scorers in a single game
References
External links
Full Fixtures and Results
{{GAA 2017
National Hurling League seasons