If what we thought we knew last week got vindicated by Limerick’s blitz of Cork, this weekend has made the obvious even more obvious and it’s not good news for those hoping to see a more competitive championship.
Limerick on Saturday in the Gaelic Grounds were already without Peter Casey, Séamus Flanagan and Kyle Hayes when they lost Cian Lynch with a hamstring injury. As I know from bitter experience – I tore mine three times in eight weeks in 1991 – it's not just a worry for the remainder of the match you're missing but for the rest of the season.
Last year when the ship was listing in the Munster semi-final against Cork, there was only one captain steering it home. Everyone will wish him well.
Still, John Kiely was able to juggle the pieces and recreate the attack by bringing on Cathal O’Neill. Although inexperienced, he did well. He may have made mistakes but every new player does and at the same time, he did plenty of good things.
Waterford had a good spell with the wind in the first half after the Lynch injury. Calum Lyons shot three points in quick succession. Earlier, Jack Fagan had the possibility of a goal had he benefited from a summer bounce rather than a spring bounce but again Limerick's defence was exceptional. Barry Nash got in a crucial block and in the second half, so did Seán Finn.
Aaron Gillane led the charge even though he had been quiet for the first half hour or so, especially before Iarlaith Daly had to go off, but once he found his scoring touch and grew in confidence Limerick prospered.
Diarmaid Byrnes was another inspirational performer for the champions. Again his strength in belting ball into the wind was on full view and one such point was described by my co-commentator, Mike Finnerty, as “outrageous” and it was hard to think of a better word.
I was disappointed by Waterford and ended up questioning whether they have actually cut the gap on Limerick
A week previously, he scored six and this week repeated that. He had three wides against Cork and none on Saturday. In the past, Byrnes was seen as a player with huge range but questionable accuracy. Not at this stage.
Extra gear
When Neil Montgomery flew into the suffocating embrace of the Limerick defence in search of a late score and was penalised, it was Byrnes who stepped up and drove another free over the bar from his own half-back line.
Limerick have this extra gear which they use to move right past opponents and before Waterford knew it, just after an hour, they were seven points behind.
It was to their credit that they found two goals and earlier had managed to bring Dessie Hutchinson into the game for four quick points against as formidable a defender as Finn but when the match was on the line, Limerick were the ones able to find a response.
From a Waterford point of view, I’m not sure how encouraging this was. They didn’t really deserve to be as close by the final whistle. Their selections have been inconsistent with players who should be starting, on the bench and others quite interchangeable. They don’t at the moment have a settled team.
The biggest worry for Liam Cahill is the slippage in form of their most important players. Tadhg de Búrca has been a kind of spiritual leader in defence and he was substituted late in the game after being unusually quiet.
Stephen Bennett hasn't scored from play yet in the championship and missed a few crucial frees. I don't know if this is the effect of a good league campaign and maybe they can come again but I was disappointed by Waterford and ended up questioning whether they have actually cut the gap on Limerick. Or has the gap to third actually got smaller?
Pace
Clare set out a tidy stall in Thurles. I wasn’t surprised that the bigger pastures and wider real estate of Semple Stadium proved a bit of a disadvantage to Tipperary given the questions over their pace.
It was only a Tony Kelly miss - I think he'd see it like that even if Pa Collins made a good save - last year that prevented them potentially being All-Ireland finalists.
Peter Duggan made an impressive return to the team and caused mayhem in Tipp’s defence, which was tactically naïve against the wind. For the second Clare goal it was three-against-two and only those five players were within 50 metres of the Tipp goal.
Shane O’Donnell was another making a welcome re-appearance. Under Brian Lohan, Clare have been consistent and they work hard. John Conlon looks in better form than a year ago and Rory Hayes was excellent.
If they could somehow get back Aidan McCarthy and Mark Rogers, they would be real surprise packets - not at the level of Limerick but certainly as good as nearly any of the rest, maybe including Waterford after the weekend.
Dublin's season could have gone very wrong if Enda Rowland had scored a goal from that Laois free a week ago but they hung on and Saturday's win in Wexford Park puts a bit more wind in their sails. They could cause trouble for Galway yet as well as for Kilkenny.
I think they’re very much in the mix for the Leinster championship, not just a top three finish.
