Laois building belief as Meath clash looms large

LAOIS’S opening-round All-Ireland victory over Carlow felt significant not just because of the result, but because of the growing sense that this team now knows how to win big games.

Backed up by their recent Leinster final success, Laois are beginning to build the kind of consistency and belief that serious championship campaigns are built on.

The challenge, of course, is that the All-Ireland series offers no breathing space. The so-called “group of death” as Pat Collier described it in his post-match interview, it was always going to ask difficult questions of every team involved, and the next one arriving in O’Moore County may be the biggest yet.

All eyes now turn to the meeting with Meath in two weeks’ time.

It is the type of fixture that can define a summer. A win would not just put Laois in pole position to qualify from the group ahead of the final clash with Westmeath — it would send a message to the rest of the championship that this side is capable of going deep into the knockout stages.

That is no small statement considering the quality around them. Meath will bring physicality, intensity and championship experience and also Meath beat Laois 2-16 to 1-8 in the league. But Laois now have something equally important: momentum.

The confidence gained from winning Leinster and opening the All-Ireland campaign with a victory cannot be underestimated. Teams that start believing in themselves become dangerous very quickly.

There is also growing depth in the panel, and that could prove crucial over the coming weeks. Championship campaigns are rarely won by fifteen players alone. Injuries, form and fatigue all become factors, and Laois appear to have developed a squad capable of carrying the burden together.

What has perhaps impressed most this year is the connection between team and county. There is genuine excitement building around Laois camogie again.

Whatever happens over the next two or three weeks, that may be the most important development of all.

Of course, success changes expectations. Supporters are no longer simply hoping Laois can compete, they are beginning to wonder how far this team can actually go. That shift in mindset is earned, not given.

And if Laois can overcome Meath on home soil, the conversation around this championship could change very quickly indeed.

For now, though, they deserve to enjoy what has already been achieved. Leinster champions. Opening-round winners in the All-Ireland series. A team improving with every outing.

Laois camogie is unquestionably on the rise whatever transpires in the coming weeks and months.