Kilkenny look like they’re enjoying the game again
IT CONTINUES to astound me about how reactionary we are. Go back a couple of rounds in the Allianz Hurling League to the day Kilkenny were well beaten by Clare. I was astounded by the headlines in the national papers the next day. There was nearly a sense of glee out there that the team which has featured in 16 of the last 19 All-Irelands was hammered, a frenzied reaction which centred around writing them off. I guess it’s the natural instinct when a team dominates the game the way Kilkenny have. It wasn’t mine though. Turns out that the obituaries being written were premature to say the least, judging on the character and quality of hurling on offer at Semple Stadium earlier this month.
The message went out loud and clear: Kilkenny haven’t gone away. Possibly for the first time since the All-Ireland final defeat by Tipperary, the players looked like they were enjoying their hurling again.
There’s no disputing that last September suggested a passing of the guard.
With so many high profile retirements, they are not the team they once were. That’s obvious. The fullback line was shown up by Tipperary on the day.
So Brian Cody has had to reshape things rather than blindly continuing and hoping it will all work out.
He understands the futility of just doing the same thing – and hoping for different results. And so Pádraig Walsh has been a consistent feature at number three. It’s meant rejigging the half-back line but so be it. Then you had the fact that Colin Fennelly and Walter Walsh were missing early on – their return has had a real knock-on effect with Richie Hogan and TJ Reid getting that bit more room.
Right there you have two former Hurlers of the Year. Add in Paul Murphy and Cillian Buckley who was outstanding at midfield against Tipperary and that’s a serious spine of a team straight away.
So they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the summer.
Tipperary are certainly building a serious squad that looks in a strong position to retain the Liam MacCarthy Cup but Kilkenny perhaps reminded us that Tipperary are a long, long way from being home and hosed for the All-Ireland.
I still got the sense that the champions aren’t showing their hand fully, yet some of the hurling they played was top class in a League that continues to confound in terms of results. Since the revamp into two groups of six in Division 1, it has been ultra-competitive.
That, in turn, has produced a mad run of results in terms of one team winning, and then being beaten by another. Look at this year where Cork beat Clare who beat Dublin who beat Cork. Or Waterford who beat Kilkenny who beat Cork who beat Waterford.
One of the big factors is the changing team lists, managers trying to balance winning points with trying out players. Tipperary, for example, started their first round with only six starters from their All-Ireland team.
Then there’s the home and away factor which also explains, in part, the swing in results.
Take Cork again as a prime example of an up-and-down team. I had my own bit to say after the Kilkenny defeat and then they go and produce a great win over Waterford.
Derek McGrath sounded particularly dejected after the defeat for his team. Sounds like they put a lot of stock on the League only to be left with more questions than answers. Again, it just goes to show the fickleness of the competition,