NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE SEMI-FINALPATRICK DONNELLAN acknowledges that an emerging Clare team will face their acid test against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in next Sunday's Allianz NHL Division One semi-final at Semple Stadium.

Substantial progress has been achieved this year under Davy Fitzgerald with promotion to Division One A achieved, but the Kilkenny showdown will provide the manager with a clear indication of his side’s summer credentials.

Clare won all of their Division One B matches, including clinching the title with victory over Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds.

That success last Saturday week came with the added – some might say dubious – bonus of a semi-final with Kilkenny. But Donnellan insists that it is a challenge to be relished and not feared.

The 26-year-old team captain said: “It’s not daunting. You’d never go in with a mindset like that but at the same time if you don’t perform against them they can obliterate you and can put you away early.

“We’ve played well in the league so far but at the same time we know that there’s a big gap between what we’ve been playing so far as opposed to Kilkenny the next day, who have been setting the standards.

“We know where we’re at and if we want to be challenging against those sort of teams we have to be performing at another level or two up.”

The general consensus is that, with their goal of promotion achieved, Clare can go and “have a cut” at Kilkenny.

And Donnellan, who is expected to line out at midfield, agreed: “I suppose, but at the same time we put pressure on ourselves to win games. It’s one thing playing with no pressure but at the same time you have to perform and play to a system and play to a plan.

“We have goals that we want to achieve for the year so there is a bit of that, in that it doesn’t really matter if we win this league because we’re out of our own league.

“We want to play well, we want to be performing, we want to be challenging these kind of teams regularly so there’s no pressure in that sense.”

Meanwhile, Tipperary’s 23-year-old forward Pa Bourke is hopeful that this is the year when he finally cements a regular place in the team.

In five Division One A matches, Bourke scored 2-31, including 1-22 from placed balls, but he is still not certain of a starting place against Limerick in the Munster SHC quarter-final on May 27th.

However, if Bourke can make a significant impact against Cork in next Sunday’s other semi-final, he could be well on the way to a 15th senior championship appearance.

Bourke made his senior debut under Babs Keating in 2007 but has struggled to make a consistent impact since then. Lar Corbett’s withdrawal from the panel and injuries to Séamus Callanan, Patrick “Bonner” Maher and Eoin Kelly have provided opportunities for others to stake a claim for attacking positions and Bourke has grabbed his chance with both hands.

But he admitted: “I’m there since 2007 and I still haven’t nailed down a staring place. Next Sunday is another opportunity for me to put my name in the hat for championship time and I’m looking forward to it.

“Of course it’s frustrating because every player wants to be playing. The players that were there were playing so well I didn’t make it. But I kept working hard. Hopefully Sunday will go well and I’ll be there or thereabouts come championship when Declan (Ryan) and the lads sit down and pick the team.”