The Munster final was a great occasion for and about Cork. Their supporters outnumbered Clare’s by a considerable number and they completed what has been a memorable campaign in the traditional style by coming from nowhere – I’m struggling not to use the mushroom analogy – like in 1990 and ‘99.
That rebel attitude on and off the field builds and builds and the public get swept along.
As a team, they have work-rate and application but also a sense of abandon. Their young players have also been great but it’s not just about them. Against Tipperary they were to the fore; against Waterford it was the older heads and here it was a combination of everybody.
The younger players are pushing on the more experienced team-mates with their enthusiasm and willingness to work. As an example Mark Coleman is a fabulous player and in the mould of the best Cork wing-backs. They're beautiful hurlers and use the ball well and have a great temperament.
He went up the field and scored a point from a line-ball and another shortly afterwards, really to confirm Cork’s superiority on the day. But there’s no fist pumping, no celebration – he’s galloping back to his position and the last bit of the journey is in reverse so that he’s ready for the puck-out. That’s the hallmark of the team.
Completely dependent
Kieran Kingston and his management have done a great job. They're playing a traditional Cork style all over the pitch. They're always using the hurley to get in tackles, to use the ball well and their pace always enables them to get to the pitch of the ball all the time and they have a very good forward line that gets scores.
The burden is also shared. We’ve seen how Kilkenny are completely dependent on TJ Reid but in Cork the load is fairly well spread.
There wasn't a huge amount between the teams. Crucially, Cork used the ball better and had a greater scoring threat, on Sunday led by the outstanding Alan Cadogan, which kept them in control at vital stages of the game.
Clare also afforded them way too much latitude. I would question how they conceded the puck-outs to Cork. All of my life in hurling you’re trying to keep the ball out of your full-back line as much as possible but Clare conceded the puck-outs and enabled Cork to bypass the area that Clare were compressing and the ball was going right into the full forwards.
Both of Clare’s corner backs were replaced. Why let the ball into your full-back line that easily? What is wrong with marking your man and cutting out the possession at source?
Shane O’Donnell scored 2-2 in the semi-final but here his energy was mostly expended in running from one corner back to another to try to close down a short puck-out. Cork were then driving it 100 yards. They were also driving ball wide from the middle of the field rather than trying to bring the full forwards into play. I didn’t understand it.
It’s been a good Munster championship for Cork but for hurling as well because that sea of red brings huge excitement like in the glory days for them and no one saw that coming back at the start of the championship.
Clawed back
Huge win for Waterford and like Wexford in the Leinster semi-final, they were clearly better but sometimes you have to be if you’re going to beat a team that you’ve been losing to on a regular basis.
They had to beat them twice, effectively, after Kilkenny had somehow clawed back an eight-point deficit – even in retrospect you’d wonder how they managed that, as there was no pattern to their attacks, but they fought tooth and nail in keeping with Brian Cody’s teams and regardless of their shortcomings.
There was some improvement around the middle of the field when Lester Ryan came on and a pushover goal – inevitably by TJ Reid – and out of nowhere they were back in it. Going off before extra time was the only stage in the match when they had any sort of pep in their step and they bounded into the dressingroom.
It was greatly to Waterford's credit that they regrouped in the face of what must have been terrible disappointment and with minutes of the restart Jamie Barron had unleashed a couple of points and a goal, and they were back in command.
They did invite their opponents on to them in the last quarter but they’d been doing that to an extent all evening and it hadn’t looked as if Kilkenny were bringing anything that would allow them take advantage.
Tadhg de Búrca had a superb game for Waterford and their forwards looked a lot sharper than they had against Cork, which might suggest there was some validity to the theory that in their camp in Fota, they had maybe overtrained and that that had knocked the edge off them before the Munster semi-final.
Tour de force
They need to improve but they have scope to do so, especially up front.
Kilkenny have been relying on a small number of players in recent years. Richie Hogan's been out of sorts this season and TJ Reid is really carrying the whole scoring burden. Michael Fennelly gave a tour de force against Limerick but wasn't able to keep that level up.
The defence had improved a little but their touch was terrible and there was no way Maurice Shanahan should have got the final goal. Even though it was finished well, there is no way he should have got the ball given the number of Kilkenny defenders.
Tipperary looked on the way back in the other match in Thurles. Dublin virtually didn’t turn up but the performances by key Tipp forwards, Séamus Callanan and John McGrath, were encouraging. Their defence and energy levels weren’t tested by Dublin but the qualifiers are for getting through and they’ve done that.
