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It's really only when you are exposed to the opinions of hurling supporters from other counties – like I was in the Cotswolds last week – that one appreciates how much Galway's displays so far in 2026 have been catching the eye outside their borders.

After honourable losses to both Tipperary and Cork in their opening Division 1A group ties, Galway have hardly put a foot wrong, with their last round demolition of Leinster champions Kilkenny at Pearse Stadium the talk of the hurling country.

Any team can have an off-day, but the Cats were truly awful. I have never seen a worse Kilkenny team and, signs on, it was the county's heaviest defeat in a competitive match in 72 years. There has been post-match suggestions that their camp was affected by a virus, but there is no disguising that it was a 'sick' performance by the men in black and amber.

Even allowing for the poverty of Kilkenny's effort, Galway were slick and sharp, with All-Star Cathal Mannion, the pacey Aaron Niland, and Rory Burke all making strong scoring contributions in a comprehensive 18-point success

With Loughrea's Kieran Hanrahan blending in well in the full-back line; Cillian Trayers continuing to make a good impression; Ronan Glennon making light of his new surroundings; and Darren Morrissey revelling in the captaincy role, the Galway defence is looking more secure under field-marshall, Padraic Mannion.

Cheap turnovers must be stamped out while a couple of the younger players who had been impressing struggled against Monaghan

Cheap turnovers must be stamped out while a couple of the younger players who had been impressing struggled against Monaghan

But there's a big beast waiting for them at the Gaelic Grounds. Limerick are not quite the destructive force of old, but they are still capable of inflicting major pain on opposition teams, as All-Ireland champions Tipperary discovered at the same venue last month.

Shane O'Brien, Adam English and Aidan O'Connor are young players paying their way; while the likes of Kyle Hayes, Gearóid Hegarty, Diarmuid Byrnes, Will O'Donoghue, Aaron Gillane, and Cian Lynch remain as competitive as ever.

With a league final place up for grabs, there is unlikely to be any shadow boxing on Saturday. Galway are making progress but this is the team's acid test so far. This is a big year for Limerick and there is a sense that if John Kiely's troops don't manage to return to the championship summit in 2026, the good times may be over for the county's greatest-ever team.

Anybody wondering why Monaghan's form has fallen off a cliff this year got ample evidence in Inniskeen on Sunday. The Farney men were shocking and only managing a measly four points when having the backing of the wind told its own story.

The hosts did breach the Galway defence twice for goals in the second-half, but they just don't have the artillery to compete with the elite teams anymore. Even their outstanding goalkeeper Rory Beggan looked a bit deflated by the team's ongoing demise.

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Still, there was a brief period when they had Galway under pressure and it took the introduction of Paul Conroy to steady the ship. He rattled over a brace of two-pointers, and with John Maher producing yet another high energy display, they comfortably picked up only their second win in Division 1.

That victory still hasn’t eliminated the spectre of relegation but at least Galway’s destiny is in their own hands when Dublin visit Salthill on Sunday, wrapping up a league campaign which has been a mixture of the good and bad. Nobody will question Galway's spirit or resolution, but cheap turnovers must be stamped out while a couple of the younger players who had been impressing struggled against Monaghan.

Up to the weekend, their arch Connacht rivals Mayo were performing positively under new manager Andy Moran, but they got a massive reality check against Kerry in Tralee on Saturday evening. Losing to the All-Ireland champions by 16 points leaves no doubts about the gulf in class.

True, it's only one game and we are still in March, but this hammering will cause a lot of soul-searching in Mayo. Even teenage sensation Kobe McDonald found the going difficult as Kerry underlined why they are again the team to beat in 2026. In fact, this far out it's hard to see any opposition stopping David Clifford and company in the months ahead.

You have got to hand it to Andy Farrell. After Ireland's flop against France in Paris in the opening round of the Six Nations, it wasn't difficult to arrive at the conclusion that the men in green would not be Triple Crown or title contenders.

But barely six weeks later, Irish rugby is in a much better place after a winning run of four games saw a nerve-jangling conclusion to the championship on Saturday. Once again, they had too much for the resurgent Scots – a result which secured the Triple Crown and almost the Six Nations crown itself, only for the ice-cool Thomas Ramos to come up trumps with the last kick of the game in France's titanic struggle with England later that night.

Though the squad was hit by injuries, Farrell managed to regroup his forces to such an extent that Ireland look like a team on the rise again. A special word of congrats to Connacht second-row Darragh Murray who seems to have come from nowhere in making his international debut.

The Roscommon native put the seal on an unforgettable experience with a second half try as Scotland's terrible run against Ireland continued with a 12th consecutive defeat. With the U-20s also winning the Triple Crown, Irish rugby looks to be on an upward trend again.

© Connacht Tribune