If recent seasons are anything to go by All-Ireland champions Kilkenny won't be recording their first three-in-a-row in nearly a century, writes Seán Moran, GAA Correspondent

The team's narrow failure to make the top three in Division One A means they definitely won't be retaining the National League and for the past three seasons the team that has won the league has gone on to add the All-Ireland.

The champions won't be too bothered by that statistic but would have preferred the higher standard of hurling available in the top section of phase two of the league, which gets under way on Easter Sunday.

The system of splitting the divisions into top and bottom certainly appeared to have had relevance for the championship last year. On seven occasions counties from the top six in Division One played opponents from the bottom six and on every occasion the latter were beaten. All four of the All-Ireland semi-finalists had played in the top six.

There has been some comment on the fact Leinster have no representation in the top six with last year's provincial finalists Kilkenny and Wexford losing their status to Galway and Limerick. But the last year in which there were separate league and All-Ireland winners, 2000, saw no Leinster counties in the semi-finals, which were played out between Tipperary, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

Yet later that year the All-Ireland final was contested by Kilkenny and Offaly. The evidence now, however, is the league has an increased relevance and influence on the summer.

Some changes have been made to the format this year.

Unlike 2003, points from the first phase won't be carried through and any sorting out to be done at the end of the second phase will be on the basis of scoring difference. As last year the top two teams will contest the final on May 9th.

The only advantage of doing well in phase one is the teams that top the tables get to play two of their three phase-two matches at home. This will benefit Cork and Galway in Division One.

At the other end of the division the teams finishing in the bottom two places will meet in a relegation play-off.

In Division Two the top pair play off for the divisional title and promotion. At the bottom of Division Two the last and second last counties enter into a round-robin tournament with the hurlers of London who have re-entered the league and join the expatriate footballers.

The county finishing third in the round robin goes down to Division Three. Promotion arrangements in the lowest division are the same as Division Two whereas at the very end of the league the four bottom counties, this year Longford, Monaghan, Donegal and Cavan, play off for a shield.