The stage is set for a battle royal.
Hurling's longest-reigning dynasty against the upstart rulers who have conquered all before them.
Will it be a first three-in-a-row for Limerick or will Kilkenny regain the crown they haven’t held since 2015?
We could do with an epic. There hasn’t been a close final since John Kiely’s men pipped Galway in 2018 for their first All-Ireland title in 45 years.
After the blip of 2019, Limerick have been so dominant in the previous two seasons that the drought seems like the distant past.
It might be stretching it a little to suggest all the neutrals will be shouting for Kilkenny but there is enough evidence to suggest they will give the champions a tougher test than Waterford or Cork managed.
In what will be the 17th final of his 24-year reign, we know that any team sent out by Brian Cody will harry and fight to the bitter end in pursuit of what would be his 12th triumph as manager.
It's a slight surprise they are here at all given the two round-robin defeats in Leinster but this young Kilkenny outfit has improved vastly since.
Whether they have advanced enough to win today remains to be seen but the defensive smothering of a more fancied Clare team in the semi-final was reminiscent of how they inflicted Limerick’s last defeat in championship three years ago, and they will attempt a similar approach.
But this is also a new breed of Cat in attack, mixing up short and long deliveries, defenders looking for diagonal balls where once they would have lumped it in TJ Reid’s direction and hoped for the best.
Not that they won’t try that too. Approaching 35, TJ Reid rarely gets a clear run on goal now but remains immensely fit and causes havoc around the 45. Kilkenny scored 26 points against Clare: 10 of those were TJ’s, including three from play. He directly assisted six of the others from catches or turnovers.
Reid's free-taking has been flawless, which would give Kilkenny a slight edge if it was to turn into a placed-ball contest. That seems unlikely but today’s ref Colm Lyons actually awarded frees more often (one every 2 minutes 13 seconds) in the Munster final than semi-final referees Fergal Horgan (3’11 in Kilkenny v Clare) and Thomas Walsh (3’02 in Limerick v Galway). Clare and Limerick were just thundering into other so relentlessly that it still seemed a lot was being let go. Expect a similar smash-mouth start today.
Reid has missed one shot in the last two games, when Hawk-Eye, restored today after an early substitution last weekend, had 'no data available’ in the Leinster final. The combined accuracy of Aaron Gillane and Diarmaid Byrnes over that period was 80% against Galway and just 57% against Clare, though the lower figure was in swirling rain at Semple Stadium and Byrnes tends to try his luck from further out than any other free-taker.
But even if the game is ‘let flow’ to the satisfaction of the hurling purist and TJ is better shackled, Kilkenny are no longer completely reliant on him in attack. His Ballyhale clubmate Adrian Mullen has scored nine points from play in the last two games.
Another Shamrock, Eoin Cody, has bagged 2-13 over the campaign and has the aerial ability to cause goal anxiety, even for the usually dominant Limerick full-back line of Mike Casey, Barry Nash and Sean Finn.
Cian Kenny starts in an unchanged team (nominally in midfield) after winning several frees to go with the 1-02 he registered against Clare. As talented a hurler as Padraig Walsh had to fight to regain his place, and he, Martin Keoghan and Billy Ryan know that Cody wouldn’t hesitate to haul off any of them, with Richie Leahy, Walter Walsh (who made Kenny’s goal against Clare) and John Donnelly all pushing hard. The appearance of the lesser-seen Richie Hogan for a final flourish would be the ultimate Cody wildcard.
In a more settled defence, the biggest question is probably over who marks Hurler of the Year contender Aaron Gillane – wolfhound Huw Lawlor or terrier Mikey Butler? Limerick’s main man has 3-18 from play in six games to date and will surely extend that whoever is assigned, but Galway did manage to contain him to just one in the second half after he had run riot in the opening 35.
Richie Reid has had a fine year at centre-back but Kyle Hayes will be his biggest test yet, literally.
Limerick’s two-time Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch sadly won’t make it after suffering another injury, but then they have managed without him since the early stages of Munster anyway.
It will surely be the hottest hurling final of all time. Water breaks are no longer with us - despite calls for their temporary reintroduction - and whoever can handle the forecast 26c heat better will be a big factor. Will Kilkenny tire first if they try to swarm and outwork Limerick early on?
Just like three years ago, building an early lead and trying to hang on seems like their best chance. Galway found out in the Leinster final how frustrating an experience trying to reel them in can be.
Limerick looked to have more energy against Clare in extra-time. They pulled clear of Galway in the closing 10 minutes. In fact, John Kiely has specifically targeted being "there or thereabouts with 10 or 15 minutes to go" and unleashing his bench.
That looks to have more scores on it than Kilkenny’s. David Reidy got three game-clinching points in 10 minutes against Galway, Peter Casey is fit again and 20-year-old Cathal O’Neill has had a fine summer.
None of Gearóid Hegarty, Tom Morrissey or Seamus Flanagan shot the lights out against Galway and were all taken off. The chances of a second quiet game in a row from that imposing trio seems slim.
Have Limerick been as superior as recent seasons? By their own admission, no. After winning every game comfortably last year, they drew against Clare and were then taken to extra-time in the Munster decider. Galway could have beaten them. Both teams had the edge in long puckouts, previously a Limerick area of dominance, which suggests their rivals are catching up tactically.
Galway created a lot of scoring opportunities by keeping the ball away from the deep-sitting Limerick half-back line and shooting from outside the 45. They didn't convert enough of them but you suspect TJ and Mullen would be more clinical.
Still, Limerick haven’t been beaten, even when not at their best. They never panic, sticking relentlessly to their patient possession game, as witnessed in the closing stages against Galway, and have a huge edge in experience – six Kilkenny players will start in their first All-Ireland, O’Neill is the only rookie likely to see action for their opponents.
If the Green Machine finally hits top gear or close to it, upping their scoring accuracy from play (55% against Galway) despite the expected relentless pressure, then fresh history will be made.
If Kilkenny can prevent that, a perfect dozen for Cody is a real possibility.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; Michael Carey, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Cian Kenny, Conor Browne; TJ Reid, Padraig Walsh, Billy Ryan; Adrian Mullen, Martin Keoghan, Eoin Cody.
Subs: Darren Brennan, Conor Delaney, David Blanchfield, James Maher, Conor Fogarty, Cillian Buckley, Alan Murphy, Walter Walsh, John Donnelly, Richie Hogan, Richie Leahy.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey; William O'Donoghue, Darragh O'Donovan; Gearoid Hegarty, Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy.
Subs: Barry Hennessy, Conor Boylan, Peter Casey, Aaron Costello, Colin Coughlan, Richie English, Robbie Hanley, Barry Murphy, Cathal O'Neill, Oisín O'Reilly, David Reidy.
Read next
- Not-so-ancient history - What Limerick learned in 2019
- All you need to know: Kilkenny v Limerick
- Shane Dowling: Tackling and turnovers in historic heat key to All-Ireland glory
- Dónal Óg Cusack's All-Ireland Hurling final preview
- Brian Cody: 'Excitement' doesn't come into it unless we win
- John Kiely expecting 'intense' and 'physical' All-Ireland final battle
- Tony Kelly: Limerick v Kilkenny is a 50:50 game
- Cream of the Cats - Tireless TJ still pointing the way
Follow the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final on Sunday, Limerick v Kilkenny, from 2pm via our live blogs on rte.ie/sport or on the RTÉ News app. Watch live coverage on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player with live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
