Munster hurling has never been in a healthier state
Quality in the southern province and its new format promises keener edge
GROWING up, it was hard to escape the feeling that the Munster Championship looked down on Leinster. It was glorified. It was huge. There were massive stories around the magic of it all. We would have always challenged that in Offaly – and Kilkenny have long been the benchmark in Leinster and beyond – but the new round-robin format in the provinces puts a fresh spin on things.
It’s impossible to predict how Munster will go. It’s that finely balanced.
In other years you might have had two or three teams struggling but all five counties look like they have a chance of securing the top two places in the group to make the Munster final or the third spot to make the All-Ireland series. Clare still have the nucleus of the 2013 AllIreland winning team. Limerick have the nucleus of two titlewinning Under 21 teams, along with players who have been part of the Fitzgibbon Cup success story, whether with UL, LIT or Mary I. Tipperary have been in the shake-up every year this decade while Waterford were All-Ireland finalists last year. That leaves Cork, the reigning champions. Everyone is capable of beating everyone else.
Because of the backdoor system this past 20 years, a little bit of the magic has been lost in terms of Munster final day. But when, if ever, have we seen Munster in such a healthy state. All the counties have very good squads with top class individual players. The fact that the two counties who finish fourth and fifth will be gone out of the Championship will really lend an edge. Cork versus Clare then this afternoon is very important in that regard. Whoever loses faces a very tough road. They’ve met three times since Clare won that 2013 All-Ireland – in 2014, 2015, and 2017 – and Cork have won all three. By five points, three points and five points. Clare were on the crest of the wave coming out of 2013, yet Cork were able for them. With Kieran Kingston stepping down and a change of management seeing John Meyler step up, they were disappointing during the Allianz League. Yet when it came to the relegation play-off against Waterford, I was really impressed with their attitude. They showed huge resolve and were very determined. In Patrick Horgan too, they have the fifth highest scorer in Championship history – Henry Shefflin remains out in front, Joe Canning passed Eddie Keher last Saturday night during the Galway-Offaly game with Eoin Kelly in fourth.
He’s a forward of real class. It’s usually a case of chalk him down for 12 points or so.
Conor Lehane can blow hot and cold but the word is that he is going very well.
Mark Coleman and Darragh Fitzgibbon made the big breakthrough last summer and they provided a big platform for the attack. Taking place in the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh should lend some confidence, even a bit of arrogance, to Cork’s play.
For Clare, it’s amazing that the 2013 All-Ireland seems so far away.
The youthful core of that team – Tony Kelly, Colm Galvin, Podge Collins, Shane O’Donnell – are all still exceptional hurlers.
It’s at the back where they have a few issues. They lost a lot of experience in players like Brendan Bugler and Pat Donnellan and while David McInerney is such an important player, do they need him at full-back rather than at six?
The same swagger that characterised the summer of 2013 doesn’t seem to be there or the same link-up play.
Kelly is suffering from Joe Canning syndrome in that he seems to be judged by a different standard than any of his team-mates. Unless he hits five or six points from play, it’s deemed to be a middling day out. He’s rated at a completely different level. Canning is judged the same – and most harshly by his own supporters.
Clare are a good example of how it can take so much out of a county to win an All-Ireland. Davy Fitzgerald has moved on to Wexford where he is in the second year of a tough training regime. By the end of his time in Clare, things had gone a bit stale.
You had the case of Darach Honan being injured and not getting the requisite medical cover while a cloud hovered over the camp towards the end.
Clare need a big Munster campaign for Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor to leave their own stamp.
I think Cork will win. There are question marks over both defences so I’m expecting an exciting, highscoring affair. Horgan could be key in that regard.
I also think Limerick and Tipperary are going to come out of the group of five in Munster, irrespective of what team comes out on top at the Gaelic Grounds today.
Tipperary are going in without answering the necessary questions. A lot of the Kilkenny lads who played well against them in the National League final struggled last Sunday against Dublin.
James Barry was taken off at full-
back and the team never looked settled all spring. They are definitely at their most vulnerable in this game.
When the time came to dig in against Kilkenny, I didn’t see the will to do it. It’s as if they were waiting for lads to come back in to make the difference.
Not for the first time, the half-forward line completely disappeared.
No disputing that Tipp are a top-class team. But they need stability at three and six and need to show serious spirit and determination. They did it two years ago in winning Munster and the All-Ireland.
A bit like Dublin where Chris Crummey was outstanding last weekend, Limerick are physically imposing across the half-back line while Cian Lynch moving to midfield has been a big thing.
He has that bit of extra freedom around the middle, drops back to help out the half-back line and links up the play well with the forwards.
John Kiely’s side have a more settled look to them and I fancy them to win.
Tony Kelly has Joe Canning syndrome, he’s judged differently to his team-mates