Happy All Ireland Hurling Final Day
Second only to Christmas is this day and if your team has an historic win, Christmas will take a back seat that year in your county.
In many counties the club championships are up and running but the main focus of envy in the rest of the hurling world today around the country will be on the Kilkenny and Limerick teams in HQ. The two best teams in the country, both there on merit, both provincial champions for the fourth and fifth time in a row, both aiming to do something very special today.
For Limerick it will be trying to create more history and add to their greatness with a fourth All Ireland in a row and for Kilkenny it's trying to create their own history and win this All-Ireland, when many thought (myself included) it just could not be done.
The story of the underdog in All-Irelands is one of legend. Teams coming up to Croke Park, not being given much hope if any of winning. Since the turn of the century this team, on a few occasions, has been Kilkenny. How do I say this about the team that has won 11 All-Irelands since the year 2000? Let’s have a look.
2006 – Cork are the dominant force in hurling, going for three in a row and many peoples favourites to do so. Their opponents didn’t read the script and the underdogs won and what happened afterwards was the start of the journey for the greatest team in hurling history, so far.
2011 – Tipp are the opposition and after dominating Munster and getting into an All-Ireland they are expected to win this title but once again the underdogs tag sits very nicely with Kilkenny and they win again.
Could the same happen in 2023? What helped Kilkenny get over the line in these victories when so many felt they couldn’t do it?
Well firstly it does help when you have some of the greatest players ever in your team to carry out the task but a major driving force in my opinion would have had to be an emotion – hurt.
The hurt they would have felt after being written off against this all-conquering Cork side. The hurt of losing to their greatest enemy over the border in Tipp in 2010. Will they now channel that hurt from last year against Limerick and use it to drive them on to their best performance this year, maybe their best performance in a few years?
Highlights of Limerick's win over Galway in semi-final
Because that’s what it is going to take for them to defeat this great Limerick team.
I am only speaking from experience of using this hurt to help a team get to that level of performance and defeat a team that many said they couldn’t. In Limerick during the week at a preview night it was referred to as the "one in a row team", I took it in jest, bit of craic, sure it was one more in a row that many of those Limerick players had anyway (just a joke people).
But what I’m getting at here is that the hurt they felt last year has to be a factor in helping them to get to that level of performance. I am sure Kilkenny have been shown and watched the visible hurt on all their faces out on the pitch after the final whistle last year since returning to training after the semi- final win over Clare.
No doubt they have spoken about how they felt and how they were going to rectify that now. Redemption for the group – a massive motivating factor.
Emotions will get you so far, you have to have the hurling on the day to back it up and of course a bit of luck, a break of a ball here and there, a decision going in your favour. So can Kilkenny match Limerick in hurling and tactical terms and how might they do this?
The match ups will be key. Who’s in and who’s out are also major factors. On the Limerick side they are without two of their greats in Sean Finn and Declan Hannon, a blow that most other counties would it find it too much to recover from and still proceed to an All-Ireland.
For Kilkenny David Blanchfield is named to start but I’d say there’s very little chance of that. Limerick have bigger losses, no doubt, but they also have bigger replacements in terms of experience and class.
The worry now for Limerick is with Richie English gone who will they look to for cover if needed in the back line. Colin Coughlan would be the obvious choice but let’s say Eoin Cody is going to town on Mike Casey how will the deck get reshuffled for this?
No doubt the scenario has been planned for but for us mere mortals watching on it would be captivating to see what the reaction would be from the sideline.
The battle of Huw Lawlor and Aaron Gillane will be worth the drive up alone. The best full-back in the country up against the best inside forward in the country and the front runner for hurler of the year. The winner of this battle will be a major telling factor in which train Liam MacCarthy will be on tonight.
I am assuming Conor Fogarty will be given the role of shutting down Darragh "Iniesta" O’Donovan and cutting out that quality ball inside at the source. If Kilkenny could stop their scorer-in-chief and the guy supplying him the quality ball then we have a game on our hands folks.
Now all that being said the Limerick half-forward line scored 1-13 from play last year in this fixture so Paddy Deegan, Richie Reid and most likely Darragh Corcoran will have to decide do we hold or follow? I think they’ll be brave and follow because you just can’t give Gearóid Hegarty, Cian Lynch and Tom Morrissey the luxury of time and space on the ball and not expect to be punished on the board.
Moving up the field who in green will pick up Eoin Cody? Another front runner for hurler of the year and a guy with the ability to do what Gillane can to do at the other end if allowed.
Highlights of Kilkenny's semi-final win over Clare
I think Mike Casey will get the job but it will be interesting to see how this one plays out after 20 minutes. Remember last year Eoin Cody was taken off at 58 minutes but one Sean Finn was on duty that day.
The Limerick half-back line have for the most part been all dominating but where Kilkenny will try to hurt them is to actually make these three defenders defend and try to get them on the back foot heading back towards their own goals because going forward they just can’t be stopped.
Case and point Kyle Hayes in the second half against Galway, powering up the field and flicking the ball over the bar. John Donnelly, TJ Reid and Tom Phelan will have a major task on their hands here.
Next to the two men who will touch the ball the most today and two of the greatest to ever do it in their position between the sticks – Nickie Quaid and Eoin Murphy. The two best goalies in hurling right now and neither of them even a full-time goalkeeper. Both outfield players with their clubs but such is the modern game.
These guys can only be described as the quarterbacks for their teams. Seeing space and passes and movement three steps before the rest of us and then when needed to, producing a top class save to cap it all off.
Kilkenny struggled going long last year against Limerick – will they have learned something from how Galway pulled and dragged their half-back line in that first 25 minutes in the semi-final and can they implement this?
Finally to the finishers, the non-starters, the bench. Call it what you like, this group of people will have a major say in this game.
Kilkenny have the old guard to come in and finish the job and what a wealth of experience and medals these lads have, Wally Walsh, Cillian Buckley, Padraig Walsh and Richie Hogan will most likely be four of the five used and they did so with great effect in the semi-final.
Limerick normally would call on Richie English, Mike Casey and David Reidy as three of their finishers but due to injury two of those are now starting and one is unavailable so now they look to Cathal O’Neill, Colin Coughlan and Graeme Mulcahy to get the job done.
Lots of talent there too but something different that the Limerick management have had to consider with all these injuries being thrown up this year, particularly in defence.
A lot of scenarios but isn’t that what makes it so intriguing. Hindsight is great, and tonight at around 10pm we will all have the answers to the 'he should have done this or how did they not see that coming' questions, but as Homer, (the Greek Poet not the man in the Simpsons) said "After the event, even a fool is wise".
So who wins it?
I said after the Cork game in the Munster Championship I would never doubt Limerick again and I am sticking to that.
Kilkenny are a better team this year and they will have that hurt there too but Limerick are on the up, they love Croke Park, they are not fazed by anything the opposition throw at them and they still, despite the personnel missing have a serious group of players to get the job done.
It will be tight but for me it will be Limerick. Four in a row and another chapter in the greatness of this group. Bain taitneamh as an lá speisialta seo gach duine.
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