GALWAY ARE THE CATS IN WAITING
TOM RYAN GIVES HIS VERDICT:
ITRUST they won’t be insulted, but when I see Galway in my mind’s eye, they are not trussed up in maroon and white but are wearing a far more intimidating uniform.
Yeah, all I can see is the black and amber stripes of hurling’s greatest and purest force… Kilkenny.
And when we dole out praise on this page, well that is as good as it gets.
I am not losing the run of myself by suggesting that they are as good as Brian Cody’s team were at their peak — that group are simply untouchable — but they are made of much the same stuff and they play to the same rhythm.
And what excites me is that the team heading out to meet them are wearing blue and gold, because in all my years playing, watching and writing about this game, nothing thrilled me quite like Tipperary and Kilkenny going bald-headed for one another like they did from 2008 to 2016.
Nothing bores me like old hurling bores who insist that the game was so much better in their day, when the players ran faster, jumped higher, hit the ball longer, and were only heard when they are asked to speak.
All sepia-tinged nonsense and my long-held conviction is that the best players are in the here and now, if only we had the vision to see and others had the courage to let them play.
Those Kilkenny/Tipperary games provided proof of that; no series of games at any other time in the game’s history glorified our game like they did over the past decade.
I only mention that because our game has not needed an epic contest for some time as it does now.
There are some out there still peddling the notion that this has been a great hurling summer when the reality is that it has been muck in terms of quality.
The excitement of Wexford’s reemergence and Cork’s unexpected resurgence, which in turn has made sure that the turnstiles have clicked busily, has ensured that novelty has been confused for greatness. It is nothing of the sort.
The standard in general has been pitiful with even the ‘good’ games like Cork’s shoot-out win over Tipperary leaving those of us who believe that man-marking is a core value stone cold.
As for the rest, I don’t want to go there but if anyone out there enjoyed either of the provincial finals or the two recent hurling quarter-finals then steer clear of my company because I am likely to cause offence.
And that is why I am excited about tomorrow, because this is Tipperary/Kilkenny reheated.
The irony, though, is that if there is a danger of one of these teams being accused of being imposters, it is not Galway who will stand accused.
I have seen enough of them to know that they will do our warrior game proud but the question is really whether Tipperary can stay true to their tradition. I have my doubts.
All year we have been waiting for them to find their All-Ireland winning stride but all they keep doing is reminding of us why they have not been able to put two big seasons back-to-back in modern times.
In fact, they look like a team that is waiting for something to happen, not realising that the flip side is that they are a team waiting to be beaten.
There have been attempts made to suggest that their issues are limited to their full-back line when the contamination is widespread.
That analysis suits those who believe that Cathal Barrett should be invited back into the team when Michael Ryan, who has stayed strong on that issue, simply can’t afford to take a soft approach on discipline given how that issue has dogged Tipperary in the past.
But Tipperary are under-performing in every line, including the half-back one which was their launch pad 12 months ago.
Their midfield is ordinary and if their attack was not staffed with the McGraths, Noel and John, they would hardly still be with us.
Seamus Callanan is a shadow of his old self and he looks to me like a guy who is carrying a knock, while John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dywer is desperately searching for confidence.
They need to find a lot for tomorrow and even if they do I am not sure that will be enough.
You could argue the one thing which Galway don’t possess is the belief that even a losing Kilkenny team still has, but Tipperary have bailed them out there too.
I wrote earlier this year that Tipperary’s no-show in the League final would come back to bite and it may well do tomorrow as it has gifted Galway the confidence that they have the measure of their opponents in a big game.
And if Galway can’t draw confidence from that result they will draw plenty from the way that they have been playing this summer
They look the real deal. Physically they are dominating teams, defensively they are bullying forward lines into submission and, in attack, they have done the impossible and made Joe Canning into a regular player.
That is no insult to Canning, but when you possess the likes of Conor and Joe Cooney, Conor Whelan and Jason Flynn scoring is not an issue, and Canning is thriving in the lightening of his load.
I still believe that the best is to come from him this summer and, as well as their attack is functioning, I would still prefer to see him located closer to the goal for the remainder of the Championship.
On top of all that, their attitude has been spot-on. They have
‘Best players are in the here and now’ ‘Galway have the measure of their rivals’
played just three games, all against teams in Dublin, Offaly and Wexford, who they would expect to beat, but it was the professional and ruthless manner in which they went about their business that impressed.
Compare that to Tipperary, who lacked shape and intensity against Cork, who took Westmeath for granted and who were so sloppy and careless against Clare and you realise that they are polar opposites.
That is not to say that Tipperary can’t win here, but if they are they will have to see Galway for who they are, Kilkenny.
They have to step up to this like they stepped up against Cody’s team, meet fire with fire, timber with timber and shoulder with shoulder.
But they will also have to box clever and not pick fights, as against Kilkenny, that they can’t win, which means that when they have control of the ball they have to keep it out of the sky.
They will have to move the ball quickly and directly into the corners, keeping it on the ground and trust they have the strength and the touch to not only keep it, but to put it to good use.
If they manage that they have a real shot here. But even if they do, I am with Galway…
Not only will they win, but if Tipperary truly test them they can show that they are a team that can be trusted to protect the integrity and beauty of our game.
That is asking a lot, but it is well within them.