Coming into the 2022/23 Energia All-Ireland League season, the biggest question was whether anybody could stop Terenure and Clontarf from a third final date in a row.
The two Dublin sides had finished first and second in the table in each of the two previous seasons, before sharing a title apiece in two pulsating Aviva Stadium finals.
Knocking on the door were Cork Constitution. Fourth in 2022, they lost out to Tarf in the semi-final at Castle Avenue, before another semi-final loss followed last season against Nure. Both times, their campaign was ended by the eventual champions.
Winners back in 2019, the six-time champions will rightfully be aggrieved to not have seven titles; they had won 14 out of 14 and were runaway leaders at the top of Division 1A when the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The 2020/21 campaign was also lost to Covid, and by the time the league finally resumed in the autumn of 2021, Con were in something of a rebuilding phase.
Having either won or finished runner-up 13 times in 31 seasons, Cork Con don't necessarily do periods of 'transition', and it felt like only a matter of time before they would be back contesting the final.
Try and try again has been the message, and last Saturday's enthralling 40-34 semi-final win against Tarf in Temple Hill has brought them back to showpiece, where they meet Terenure this Sunday (4pm).
The difference between this year and those past?
"Just that extra year of experience," is the verdict of vice-captain Jack Kelleher.
"A year in the AIL means a lot. You're playing 18 games, a lot of experience. We’ve a young enough pack, so that extra year to put on maybe a couple of kilos in weight but more experience.
"We had quite a young squad and a couple of new additions this year and one of the main goals we set out in June was to get the home semi, to push on and take another step and get to the Aviva this year."
One other big difference between those semi-final defeats, and last week's win, was the venue.
Home semi-finals are a strong currency in the AIL, with the last away winners of a semi-final coming back in 2018.
"It [the semi-final] was absolutely nail-biting I'd say, probably worse to watch it than it was to play in it. Each team was throwing shots and it was very exciting at the end just getting out on top.
"Having your friends and family on the sideline, huge crowd, couldn't have got a nicer day for it. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere down there," he added.
The last two seasons have been quite the journey for Con, who are steered by head coach Jonny Holland and director of rugby Brian Hickey, with a supporting cast of former Munster professionals Billy Holland (lineout), Brian Scott (defence) and Denis Fogarty (scrum).
The journey can be neatly summed up by their last two regular season trips to Sunday's final opponents; In October 2022 they were hammered 47-12 by Terenure, having trailed 47-0 at half time. Twelve months later, they laid down their mark as title contenders when they returned to Lakelands and beat the champions 20-0.
Kelleher is in his second season with Con, having previously lined out for UCC, with the 22-year-old already installed as vice-captain behind skipper Dave Hyland.
"I don't know what they see in me but there are leaders within our group that make my life easy. I’m only the vice to Dave [Hyland], an unbelievable leader as captain for us all season.
"Coming into Con, you've got an older team, especially because my second year at UCC, which was basically my first proper year in the club, we were a really young side, I’d say an average age of 21, if even.
"Then coming up to Con, you’ve lads who have had 10, 12 years playing AIL so you’re learning off those lads. It’s a completely different atmosphere and vibe."
The Cork native first started playing at Dolphin when he was 10, before excelling with Presentation Brothers College in the city.
Kelleher has been on the radar of Munster, and was involved with their sub academy and the National Talent Squad, while he was also part of their preparation for the infamous Covid game against Wasps in December 2021, when the majority of the squad were stranded in South Africa isolating.
"It was good, excellent training sessions, learning off coaches, different ideas, bouncing off different people. You meet other lads from other clubs in that set-up and a nice couple of years in there.
"It was a cool experience. Sub-academy lads, academy lads, and then the Irish internationals, it was really cool," he added.
Con will be underdogs on Sunday when they face Nure, who are looking to match Shannon as the only back-to-back winners of the All-Ireland League.
Their league meetings this season suggest there won't be much in it, however. While Con won away in Lakelands earlier in the season, the defending champions gained revenge when they traveled to Temple Hill in March and grabbed a narrow 26-23 victory.
"I suppose in Cork, anyway, the expectation is if you're playing in Con you should be up there winning and competing most years. So there’s definitely that bit of expectation.
"It would mean everything [to win]. We’ve been working so hard since June, it would mean a lot to the club, to the group.
"I know there are a lot of people who have been supporting us for 19 games this season so far, so to win it for them and for the group beyond the 23 that will play at the weekend, it’s going to mean a lot.
"We hope we can take the next step and go on to win it. It’s going to be a huge battle because we know how good Terenure are as a defending champions. They’re coming off the back of topping the league coming into this final so we know how big a challenge it is.
"But I think we certainly can, if we perform, get the win."
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