Railway Cup: The Strongest Starting XV From Each Province

The Railway Cup is making a return later this month, and although it might only be as a way of trialling the new rules, there is plenty of reasons to get excited about it.

Showcasing potential rule changes that are designed to make the game more entertaining will certainly grab the attention of any interested viewer, but with the congested GAA schedule now given some breathing room, fans are just looking forward to watching some top quality games.

You don't have to be a kid to daydream about the idea of making a dream team, made up of the best players who would normally be competing against each other, and the Railway Cup turns this into reality.

We pick our own Ulster, Leinster, Munster, and Connacht teams, and make them as strong as possible to see which province looks the best.

Because we don't own a crystal ball, we don't know which players will be ruled out because of club championship commitments, so this will be based on the premise that every player is available, and we have put a max of four players from each county to make things fair.

Ulster

1. Niall Morgan (Tyrone)
2. Pierce Laverty (Down)
3. Chrissy McKaiuge (Derry)
4. Peader Mogen (Donegal)
5. Ryan McHugh (Donegal)
6. Aidan Forker (Armagh)
7. Conor McCarthy (Monaghan)
8. Conor Glass (Derry)
9. Odhran Murdock (Down)
10. Oisin Conaty (Armagh
11. Rian O'Neill (Armagh)
12. Darragh Canavan (Tyrone)
13. Conor Turbitt (Armagh)
14. Oisin Galln (Donegal)
15. Shane McGuigan (Derry)

Connacht

1. Conor Gleeson (Galway)
2. Johnny McGrath (Galway)
3. Brian Stack (Roscommon)
4. Donnacha McHugh (Mayo)
5. Brian Cox (Sligo)
6. Mark Plunkett (Leitrim)
7. Eoghan McLaughlin (Mayo)
8. Paul Conroy (Galway)
9. Enda Smith (Roscommon)
10. Patrick O'Connor (Sligo)
11. Diarmuid Murtagh (Roscommon)
12. Daire Gregg (Roscommon)
13. Aidan O'Shea (Mayo)
14. Damien Comer (Galway)
15. Ryan O'Donoghue (Mayo)

READ ALSO: Oulart The Ballagh Praised For 'Magnanimous And Dignified' Statement After Wexford SHC Controversy

READ ALSO: Athy Player Praised For Cameo Role After Managing Laois Team On Same Day

Leinster

1. Killian Roche (Laois)
2. Mick Fitzsimons (Dublin)
3. Dermot Campbell (Louth)
4. James Kelly (Laois)
5. James Dolan (Westmeath)
6. John Small (Dublin)
7. Craig Lennon (Louth)
8. Brian Fenton (Dublin
9. Ray Connellan (Westmeath)
10. Ronan O'Toole (Westmeath)
11. Sam Mulroy (Louth)
12. Conor Grimes (Louth)
13. Evan O'Carroll (Loais)
14. Con O'Callaghan (Dublin)
15. Matthew Costello (Meath)

Munster

1. Josh Ryan (Limerick)
2. Tom Walsh (Cork)
3. Jason Foley (Kerry)
4. Tom O'Sullivan (Kerry)
5. Ikem Ugweuru (Clare)
6. Cillian Rouine (Clare)
7. Paudie Feehan (Tipperary)
8. Ian Maguire (Cork)
9. Steven O'Brien (Tipperary)
10. Sean Powter (Cork)
11. Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
12. Brian Hurley (Cork)
13. Tom O'Connell (Waterford)
14. Conor Sweeney (Tipperary)
15. David Clifford (Kerry)

Remember, the stipulation is that you are only allowed to pick a maximum of four from each county, so it certainly gets tricky when you want to raid the big counties full forward lines, but we think that these four teams look very strong.

SEE ALSO: Ballina Coach Unhappy With Refereeing After O'Hora Hospitalised With Head Injury