The 2018 Nicky Rackard Cup was the 14th staging of the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishi ...

hurling championship since its establishment by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

in 2005. It was the fourth tier of senior inter-county hurling as of 2018. The competition began on Saturday 12 May 2018 and ended on Saturday 23 June 2018.

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

were the 2017 champions, beating

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , " Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

in the final. Both teams were promoted to the

2018 Christy Ring Cup The 2018 Christy Ring Cup was the 14th staging of the Christy Ring Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the third tier of senior inter-county hurling. The competition began on 12 May 20 ...

as a result of the restructuring of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Following the withdrawal of the Fingal team from the competition in 2017, there was no relegation from the 2017 competition 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-Avon an ...

were promoted from the

2017 Lory Meagher Cup The 2017 Lory Meagher Cup was the ninth staging of the Lory Meagher Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2009. It is the fourth tier of senior inter-county championship hurling. Louth, the 2016 ...

Format

Beginning in 2018, the Nicky Rackard Cup changed to an initial stage of two groups, which in 2018 consisted of one group of four teams and one group of three teams. Previously it was a double elimination tournament. The top two teams from both groups advance to the knockout semi-finals. The winners of the 2018 Nicky Rackard Cup are promoted to the 2019 Christy Ring Cup. Two teams will be relegated from the 2018 Christy Ring Cup to the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup to make the 2019 completion into two groups of four teams. The bottom teams from each group playoff in a relegation match with the losers playing in the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup. They are replaced by the winners of the

2018 Lory Meagher Cup The 2018 Lory Meagher Cup was the 10th staging of the Lory Meagher Cup, the Gaelic Athletic Association's fifth tier inter-county hurling championship. The draw for the 2018 fixtures took place on 25 October 2017. The cup begun on 19 May 2018 an ...

Group stage

Group 1

Table

Matches

=Group 1 Round 1

=Group 1 Round 2

=Group 1 Round 3

Group 2

Table

Matches

=Group 2 Round 1

=Group 2 Round 2

=Group 2 Round 3

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finals

The Group 1 winners play the Group 2 runners-up and the Group 2 winners play the Group 1 runners-up.

Final

The semi-final winners met in the Nicky Rackard Cup final at Croke Park with the winners being promoted to the Christy Ring Cup for 2019.

Relegation playoff

The bottom teams in each group - the fourth placed team in group 1 and the third placed team in group 2 - meet in a relegation playoff. The winners remain in the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2019, while the losers are relegated to the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup. * Leitrim are relegated to the 2019 Lory Meagher Cup. Louth will remain in the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup

Format

Group stage

Group 1

Table

Matches

=Group 1 Round 1

=Group 1 Round 2

=Group 1 Round 3

Group 2

Table

Matches

=Group 2 Round 1

=Group 2 Round 2

=Group 2 Round 3

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Relegation playoff

Stadia and locations

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall

Single game

See also

References