Clare top Munster table but round-robin edge doesn’t translate to trophies

Thereisnotrophyhandedoutfor finishing top of the Munster SHC round-robin, but Clare have proven themselves to be the provincial kingpins since the competition structure was changed from knockout to a league style in 2018.

While Limerick have taken all before them as they chase a fifth All-Ireland SHC title in succession – as well as a sixth Munster crown in a row – the Banner boast a better round-robin record with 23 points (11 wins, four losses and one draw) accumulated from the 32 that have been up for grabs. Limerick (21 points from 32) have largely been an impenetrable force outside of Munster since ending a 45-year famine with Liam MacCarthy Cup success in 2018, but they have encountered serious turbulence during an ultra-competitive round-robin series.

John Kiely’s men have never topped the round-robin table in the four years that it has been played (2018, ’19, ’22 and ’23; it reverted to the old system in ’20 and ’21 during the pandemic) and they suffered a pair of defeats in 2019 before ruthlessly exacting revenge on Tipperary in a one-sided Munster final.

They teetered on the edge last season, with Waterford pushing them to the pin of their collar before Clare took them down in the Gaelic Grounds six days later. Tipp had them on the ropes in round three before the sides finished level, while they then edged out Cork in a thriller by a point.

Their season looked like it was on life support at different stages, but once they negotiate their way into one of the three qualifying spots in the province, they seem to turn into a different animal.

With a league title already under their belts, Brian Lohan will be hoping that the Banner can go one step further this season and turn their round-robin superiority into silverware, and that adds further spice to their first-round clash with Limerick on Sunday, with Ennis expected to be rammed.

Cork (17 points) marginally edge out Tipp (14) in the cumulative table, but the Premier grabbed the third spot ahead of the Rebels last year, while a deep-dive into Waterford’s round-robin record will leave Déise manager Davy Fitzgerald with his

head buried in his hands. Their statistics are abysmal, with just five points from a possible 32 and a diabolical scoring aggregate of -111. That’s 13 defeats, two wins and a draw from 16 games, with both victories coming against Tipp, and last year’s victory was in a dead rubber for the Déise.

Unlike 2023, they will play their first two games on home soil at the revamped Walsh Park and coach/selector Peter Queally was adamant that there are no excuses this time around .

“We can have no excuses this year. Our first game is Cork, it’s at home, we have 14 days, then to get ready for our second game against Tipperary. So, we can have no excuses. Those are our two All-Irelands this year,” Queally told reporters before Christmas of last year.

“Honestly, there’s no theory [about why their round-robin record is so bad]. It’s hard to put a finger on it. I can only speak for last year, but overall, it really is hard to put a finger on it.”

You’d think that home advantage should be massive for Waterford, and every other county, but the statistics don’ t back that up, and the win rate for those playing on home soil in the round-robin stands at a paltry 42.5pc (17 victories from 40 home ties) in Munster.

Just three Munster games were won by the home side from 10 last season, while the win rate in Leinster climbs slightly to 46pc (23 wins from 50 games), with Galway the only side across the two provinces to remain unbeaten in the competition’s four-year history.

There’s a distinct Galway (30 points from 36) dominance in Leinster, with just one round-robin defeat – that came when Dublin sensationally dumped them out on the final day in 2019 – but that has not been turned into silverware.

Amazingly, the only year where the table-toppers claimed provincial silverware was the inaugural running of the competition when Cork and Galway prevailed. Getting their hands on the Bob O’Keeffe Cup again is surely all that’s on Henry Shefflin’s mind.

The five-in-a-row chasing Kilkenny (24) are next best in Leinster, with top form usually saved for the provincial decider, while the opening-round clash of Wexford (19) and Dublin (19) is intriguing, given little ever separates them.

History says Clare, Limerick and Cork will make it out of Munster, with Galway and Kilkenny the top two in Leinster and a coin toss for third. So many thrills and spills await.