Watching from the sidelines Tipperary followers will have duly noted the new developments in hurling. Emphatic statements by Clare and Waterford set up a novel league decider while Kilkenny is ‘bet’ and Limerick head back to the drawing board.
Normally double-digit defeats make for poor viewing but on Sunday last there was still something fascinating about the outcomes. Clare by a dozen and Waterford by eleven left no room for doubt – but sparked plenty of speculation about the season ahead.
I loved the ‘Examiner’s’ profile photo of Cody on Monday, that craggy old face caught in a moment of wince. We feel your pain, Brian! It aptly summed up the day’s events for the game’s greatest manager. Kilkenny have feet of clay after all.
It was Clare’s greatest moment in three years, doing to Kilkenny what we’ve so often failed to do. After their two-year hiatus following the 2013 All Ireland they’re back on song. The dividend from that hat-trick of U21 titles is now paying off. There’s depth to the panel. How else could they put on this display without the services of so many key players? Tony Kelly is on the comeback trail but they’re still without David McInerney – one of the best defenders around in my view – and Shane O’Donnell and Jack Browne and Peter Duggan and Seadna Morey – the list goes on. By now the absentees must be worried – there may not be places for them when they return.
We let Clare off the hook in Ennis and we may have created a monster in the process. This was a vastly improved showing from the quarter-final and in this mood they’re set fair for the summer irrespective of the final outcome.
For Kilkenny it must have been a jolt. For once they couldn’t match an opponent’s high-octane intensity and as they chased the lead in the second half they left themselves even more exposed. Against a relentless Clare that proved costly. Suddenly their goalie and defence looked vulnerable and their marquee players like Reid and Hogan couldn’t save this one.
I was thinking of Ger Loughnane and that recent interview during the game. Few can raise hackles like Loughnane even when he’s being complimentary. Actually when you read the entire interview with John Harrington what stands out most is the lavish praise for Cody. However, it was the ‘functional’ comment about the present Kilkenny team which drew fire.
Typical of Loughnane he has a valid point, but he over-eggs it as usual and in the process manages to offend – even Davy Fitz didn’t appreciate the ammunition he was delivering to Cody ahead of Sunday’s game. Loughnane’s central thesis is that nobody bar Cody could bring the present Kilkenny team to another three-in-a-row. You could argue that it belittles the present players as much as elevating Cody but whatever you’re view there’s no denying that there’s a central vein of truth in what he’s saying. He’s also right when he says that a quarter or semi-final is the only place to stop Kilkenny because in September they simply know how to win irrespective of their make-up.
On Sunday the limitations of Cody’s present panel was exposed but here’s the warning: when the Fennellys and Larkin and Paul Murphy all return they’ll be playing to a different beat. It may not be as formidable as former symphonies but the Cody factor means they’ll still be the ones to beat.
The list of challengers though is increasing and Waterford must now be firmly in the mix. Derek McGrath’s project is progressing very nicely and don’t be fooled by all this guff about a so-called system. Hurling doesn’t play to a mathematical formula; ultimately the best players win and the Deise is well stocked with exceptional talent. In that second half on Sunday they simply swatted Limerick aside so the final is a fascinating prospect.
For Limerick the horizon looks bleaker. They stuttered through the league, their quarter final against Dublin the one highlight before making a lame exit in the semi. They strike me as a team that’s playing on a wing and a prayer hoping that passion alone will lift them to new heights. As late comers to the sweeper system they couldn’t match Waterford’s control of movement and looked very downbeat by the end. Not starting Shane Dowling looked questionable too. So T.J. Ryan and Dinny Cahill have much work to do in the Gaelic Grounds ahead of their Munster campaign.
Meanwhile the Tipperary championship played catch-up last weekend after being mostly rained-off the previous week. The Drom/Upperchurch tie now remains the sole outstanding fixture in round one.
Paul Curran and colleagues in Mullinahone probably won’t agree with me but their win over Templederry was probably the surprise outcome of the weekend. The North side has been threatening a major breakthrough in recent seasons but Mullinahone were having none of it. Interesting to hear Eoin Kelly is still enjoying his hurling and clocking up the scores to good effect. It’s a significant outcome in a competitive group where Nenagh have already lost to Kildangan.
Elsewhere in Roinn 1 Sarsfields had their expected win over Borrisoleigh. Mickey Cahill made his comeback but Ronan Maher picked up a thigh injury which we all hope isn’t serious. Portroe edged out Lorrha in their group, an outcome that could well doom the latter to Roinn 2 action next year.
In Roinn two I saw Ballingarry prevail over newly-promoted Clonakenny on Saturday at Boherlahan. It was an honest and earnest affair between these two with the South side having that bit extra when it mattered most.
They were level at half time, Willie Ryan the main man for the Mid side. Ciaran Shelly flashed in an important goal for Ballingarry and ultimately it was goals that decided this one. Ballingarry introduced county minor panelist, Dylan Walsh, in the second half and his partnership with Philip Ivors proved crucial. A great save denied the county minor a goal after he was set up by Ivors and the roles reversed later as Walsh turned supplier for an Ivors’ finish, which proved to be the winner.
Clonakenny had to push Willie Ryan forward in search of a saviour near the end but it wasn’t to be. Adrian Cleere was in good form too for the Southerners and their greater experience plus the lively contribution of Dylan Walsh proved vital in the end. It was an important outcome for Ballingarry in a group that’s likely to be very tight. Clonakenny have yet to win a senior game since promotion.
Meanwhile Tipperary’s minor hurlers launch their Munster campaign this Saturday with a visit to Waterford. It’s a tricky away opener for Liam Cahill and his charges who set off in defence of their provincial crown. The corresponding fixture last year saw Tipperary edge a narrow and perhaps fortunate win at the Stadium.
This time Waterford have the benefit of an opening bout with Cork which they lost narrowly. Minor teams tend to evolve and develop over games so there’s no denying the benefit of that match for Saturday’s opponents. Tipperary has three main survivors from last year in Brian McGrath, Lyndon Fairbrother and Cian Darcy so I’m sure Liam Cahill and his fellow mentors won’t fully know what they’ve got until the real action commences. If they lose there will be another chance against Clare, though I’m sure a direct visa to the semis is what’s on their minds. Good luck to them.
Finally, and speaking of minors, some of them made the news in the past week for all the wrong reasons. Kilkenny in their wisdom decided to enter a minor football team and had a home fixture with Wexford in the first round. It was one that made national news: Wexford 17-20, Kilkenny duck egg. A seventy-one point defeat presumably sets some sort of unwelcome record. With unfortunate timing it came in the same week when Nicky Brennan was stating that Kilkenny was doing well financially because of not having to invest in football.
Still in Leinster, during the week there was the story of the Wicklow minor hurlers. They lost a first round to that great hurling stronghold, Meath, by 10-22 to 0-7. It wasn’t quite on the scale of the Kilkenny football embarrassment, but getting there. It prompted three of the minor hurlers to pen a letter to the local paper lambasting the Wicklow County Board for its disregard for hurling and its preferential treatment of football; the team, it seems, had just three training sessions before the Meath game. Aren’t we lucky In Tipperary to have such an egalitarian outlook?
