# 2002 National Hurling League

The 2002 National Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Hurling League, was the 71st edition of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams. Kilkenny won the league, beating Cork in the final.

## Structure

There are 12 teams in Division 1, divided into 1A and 1B. Each team plays all the others once, either home or away. Teams earn one point for a draw and two for a win.
* The first-placed teams in 1A and 1B progress to the NHL semi-finals
* The second- and third-placed teams in 1A and 1B progress to the quarter-finals
* The fifth- and sixth-placed teams in 1A and 1B go into a relegation playoff.
There are 10 teams in Division 2, split into 2A and 2B.
* The first- and second-placed teams in 2A and 2B progress to the Division 2 semi-finals
* The fourth- and fifth-placed teams in 2A and 2B go into a relegation playoff.
There are 6 teams in Division 3. The top two play each other in the final, with the winner promoted. The bottom two teams play a relegation playoff.
There are 5 teams in Division 4. The top two play each other in the final, with the winner promoted.

## Division 1
### Division 1A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Kilkenny | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9-75 | 1-56 | 43 | 8 | Division 1 champions |
| 2 | Galway | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6-86 | 6-61 | 25 | 8 |
| 3 | Clare | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6-86 | 7-59 | 24 | 6 |
| 4 | Waterford | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6-69 | 3-68 | 10 | 4 |
| 5 | Dublin | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6-56 | 6-79 | -23 | 4 |
| 6 | Meath | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4-42 | 14-91 | -79 | 0 | Relegated to Division 2 |

### Division 1B Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Cork | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6-90 | 5-60 | 33 | 8 | Division 1 runners-up |
| 2 | Limerick | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8-77 | 6-54 | 29 | 8 |
| 3 | Tipperary | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10-83 | 9-54 | 35 | 6 |
| 4 | Wexford | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10-73 | 8-71 | 8 | 6 |
| 5 | Offaly | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9-61 | 9-76 | -15 | 4 |
| 6 | Derry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6-37 | 12-104 | -85 | 0 |

### Relegation play-offs

Semi-finals
Final

### Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final

### Scoring statistics
#### Top scorers overall

| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Mark Keane | Limerick | 4-44 | 56 | 7 | 8.00 |
| 2 | Eoin Kelly | Tipperary | 2-41 | 47 | 7 | 6.71 |
| 3 | Nicky Horan | Meath | 2-38 | 44 | 7 | 6.28 |
| 4 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 3-32 | 41 | 7 | 5.85 |
| 5 | Eugene Cloonan | Galway | 1-28 | 31 | 4 | 7.75 |
| 6 | John O'Brien | Tipperary | 6-09 | 27 | 6 | 4.50 |
| 6 | Paul Flynn | Waterford | 3-18 | 27 | 5 | 5.40 |
| 6 | Ken McGrath | Waterford | 1-24 | 27 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 6 | Joe Dooley | Offaly | 0-27 | 27 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 10 | Barry Lambert | Wexford | 1-23 | 26 | 4 | 6.50 |
| 10 | Eddie Brennan | Kilkenny | 3-17 | 26 | 7 | 3.71 |
| 10 | Ollie Collins | Derry | 1-23 | 26 | 7 | 3.71 |

#### Top scorers in a single game

| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Mark Keane | Limerick | 2-08 | 14 | Derry |
| 2 | Michael Collins | Derry | 4-01 | 13 | Dublin |
| 2 | Mark Keane | Limerick | 2-07 | 13 | Tipperary |
| 4 | Eugene Cloonan | Galway | 1-08 | 11 | Tipperary |
| 4 | Geoffrey McGonagle | Derry | 0-11 | 11 | Meath |
| 4 | Mark Keane | Limerick | 0-11 | 11 | Clare |
| 4 | Eoin Kelly | Tipperary | 0-11 | 11 | Galway |
| 8 | Éamonn Collins | Cork | 3-01 | 10 | Offaly |
| 8 | Eddie Brennan | Kilkenny | 2-04 | 10 | Meath |
| 8 | Mark O'Leary | Tipperary | 2-04 | 10 | Derry |
| 8 | John O'Brien | Tipperary | 2-04 | 10 | Derry |
| 8 | Barry Lambert | Wexford | 1-07 | 10 | Offaly |
| 8 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 1-07 | 10 | Limerick |

## Division 2
### Division 2A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Antrim | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8-60 | 1-47 | 34 | 8 | Division 2 runners-up |
| 2 | Down | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10-50 | 5-42 | 23 | 6 |
| 3 | Kildare | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1-52 | 6-48 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Westmeath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3-42 | 7-53 | -23 | 3 |
| 5 | Roscommon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5-38 | 5-62 | -24 | 0 |

### Division 2B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Laois | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4-70 | 3-41 | 32 | 8 | Division 2 champions |
| 2 | Kerry | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7-49 | 3-41 | 20 | 4 |
| 3 | Carlow | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9-45 | 10-48 | -6 | 4 |
| 4 | Wicklow | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10-53 | 7-46 | -16 | 4 |
| 5 | London | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5-29 | 12-70 | -62 | 0 | Relegated to Division 3 |