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Here’s my advice to bring down champs Limerick

Dear Brian,

No doubt this letter finds you well following last weekend’s league final.

Cards on the table: This is written primarily out of self-interest. For Tipperary and the rest to have a chance in Munster, Clare must beat Limerick next Sunday.

A win would put a real question mark over the championship for the first time in four years. It would also embolden Tipp, Cork and Waterford to go and repeat it. If Limerick lose, they’re under real pressure to escape Munster. But if they win, the doubters will be silenced, and having beaten their greatest threat, they’ll be certain of a Munster final place.

From there, the short route awaits to Croke Park on their journey towards five-in-a-row. If there’s going to be a real challenge to them this year, then Munster is the place for it, not Dublin.

Looking back, the journey you’ve brought Clare on is remarkable. Five years ago, the infighting between the county board, clubs and management had affected the team’s preparations, leaking into their performances. The careers of the class of 2013 had stalled. Underage, Clare were winning very few matches. Where was the new talent going to come from?

TRUST

But on the field after last weekend’s league final, the difference was clear, the team and county united. The supporters now love and trust your side. The league victory was a down payment for their loyalty. Now is the time to drive on. You have the right players and the right age profile, with leaders in key positions. If not now to win Munster, then when?

Clare have matched Limerick in Munster over the last two years without winning the title. In that time, there were two draws, a onepoint victory for both and Limerick’s extra-time win by three points.

But at the end of the day, Limerick are the ones with five consecutive Munster titles.

In my playing days, I got to play in 10 Munster finals and was on the winning side six times. Those were some of my best days on a pitch. A Munster final victory is a special one. Clare have not won it since 1998, a full 26 years ago. They’ve suffered six final defeats since. It’s time to fix that.

The major obstacle is Limerick, who are 4/5 favourites to do the five-in-arow. Win next Sunday and they could win many more titles and be crowned the best team ever to play the game.

But worryingly for them, the word is some of the stalwarts continue to struggle with recent training and challenge matches and have left John Kiely more than annoyed. Clare have their ducks in a row. Do Limerick?

Whatever version shows up in Ennis, Clare have the tools to beat them. How to do it?

At wing-forward, Peter Duggan and David Fitzgerald have the physicality and presence to force Limerick’s half-backs to concentrate on defending.

The Clare centre-forward will get room as Limerick stick to their system with their centre-back playing as a quarterback. An accurate shooter in that position will have opportunities to add significantly to Clare’s tally.

To win, Clare must create mismatches on the inside line. Let the forwards rotate to get height on the Limerick corner-backs, with Shane O’Donnell on Dan Morrissey. Keep making the runs for 75 minutes to create one-on-ones inside their 21. Vary the supply of ball to suit the Clare forwards.

In the corners, the high, hanging ball in one-on-one situations has troubled Limerick.

TURNOVERS

Defensively, there’s no point sitting back. You need to stop Limerick from getting into their flow at source. Push up on their puckouts.

Once their corner-back tries to pick the next pass across the half-back line, Clare must make turnovers happen there. Trust your full-back line to match their men, while the rest force deliveries to come from distance. Limerick cannot be allowed to work the ball through the hands all the way from Barry Nash to Aaron Gillane.

Being streetwise is part of the deal. In the 2023 Limerick club championship, Na Piarsaigh neutralised Patrickswell’s Aaron Gillane, Cian Lynch and Diarmaid Byrnes by taking them on physically, dragging them into a battle.

The players of the year got drawn into it and grew frustrated. If the ref is Johnny Kelly, James Owens or Colm Lyons, then the stricter set of rules will be in force.

Adjustments will be necessary to come out ahead on the key scorable free count. In that scenario, put a smaller player on Will O’Donoghue and look for frees once in possession. If the ref is Thomas Walsh or Paud O’Dwyer, then more sensible rules apply. Clare can go and take it on physically.

SPECIAL

To finish the deal, something special is needed for the last quarter. It’s very likely the game will be on a knife edge then. All the top teams have got this far at some stage, but no one has closed the deal. Something extra is required. Maybe it’s Tony Kelly. Maybe it’s targeting their subs with your best players. Maybe it’s finding something in Ennis to bring the crowd into the match in that final 10 minutes. But no matter what, you need a fresh plan to finish the deal. I’ve no doubt it can happen.

Yours sincerely, Lar Corbett

PS: Apologies to Limerick supporters for the one-sided nature of this letter. It’s no slight against your team, but the rest of us just feel that if Limerick aren’t stopped now, they could still be champions when JP brings the Ryder Cup to Adare in 2027. Either way, next Sunday will provide real evidence on what fate awaits everyone in 2024. It can’t come around soon enough.

Any feedback, good or bad, is welcome at LarCorbettSports.com

‘Whatever version shows up in Ennis, Clare have the tools to win’