Since finishing hurling at county level, I have become obsessed with golf - much to the dismay of my wife.
I watched almost every minute of the Masters last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The brilliance of Scottie Scheffler as he put on a masterclass of ball-striking on Sunday to hold off all challengers. They all made a surge at one stage or another but if they did, Scheffler just drove it onto another level. His form coming into it was exceptional but his class will be what sets this guy apart from the rest and watch him clock up the major titles.
Why am I talking about golf on the week of the hurling championship? Firstly, I hear many say that the Masters is the greatest show on Earth but, while it is on my bucket list, if someone stood in front of me and said you can only see one – Augusta or Ennis – hand on my heart, I would take Ennis for the battle of Limerick and Clare this weekend.
You could not have scripted this any better. The form team in the country playing at home in an atmosphere that Cusack Park will not have seen for some time, playing against the team chasing immortality by trying to do something that has never been done before in the hurling world. What a way to start this journey.
True, if Limerick lose on Sunday they will be far from done but it does dial up the pressure gauge a few levels for them going into game two if they don’t get the win in Ennis. It is the perfect storm and if we manage to see Clare at their strongest, with Tony Kelly on the field, you do feel that this is their time to say to the rest of the country that the Banner are ready to win more trophies. The league victory will certainly have cemented belief that they can win on the big days when a trophy is on the line and to do it against Kilkenny, who have had their number over the past few seasons, will also further galvanise that belief.
Last year, Limerick came into championship as the form team after they walked to a league final win but then were a bit flat against Waterford, who will still feel they should have won that game and who had the chances to do so. Limerick are so much more dangerous this year as they have had a chance to regroup, get in a training camp and maybe ask each other some hard questions as to why it was so bad against Kilkenny and insist that they can’t let that happen again.
It will be an 'us against the world' mentality. They are a wounded animal and we will see just that in Ennis. I also feel they are a stronger panel this year too, with the return of Sean Finn, their leader Declan Hannon and the maturing of such players as Cathal O'Neill, Donnacha O’Dálaigh and Adam English really pushing the regulars for starting spots. That gives John Kiely a real headache, but a good one, in regards to which 15 will take to the pitch on Sunday. They are a stronger panel this year and the pressure that goes with getting a starting jersey will not be seen as a pressure but a privilege - the great players embrace that and usually give greater performances as a result.
If there’s one battle I can’t wait to see, it’s Conor Cleary and Aaron Gillane locking horns again. These two have had some great tussles in recent years and if you are going to have a chance of beating Limerick, Gillane is the man who must be stopped. Clare will be brave and will go toe to toe with Limerick, so there will be no sitting back to cut off that space in front of Gillane. The battle between those two when the ball does come in will be a treat to watch and nearly worthy of its own camera, just to watch both on and off the ball. Whoever wins this battle will be key to the outcome of the game.
For me, it’s Limerick who will come out victorious on Sunday, but let’s pray for another cracker like we’ve been treated to in recent times when these two collide.
Down in the Sunny South-East, the Rebels head to Walsh Park looking to get their campaign off to a winning start against the Munster team with the worst record in the time we have had round-robin championship hurling. For me, there’s a lot more on the line here than just two points and a win. The winner of this will be in pole position to take one of the three spots and get out of Munster with Limerick and Clare.
Tipperary will have a big say but their first outing is against Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds, a tough start for any team. The winning manager in Waterford on Sunday will breathe the biggest sigh of relief in Ireland, knowing they’ve made a great start and that their job is safe - for another few weeks anyway because the losing manager will be under a world of pressure heading into round two.
If Waterford, who now truly have a home game in their newly developed ground, continue to play like they did in the league and lose, and even get a beating whilst doing so, the pressure on Davy Fitz will be huge. In their second game they welcome Tipp, who most likely will also be fighting for their lives by then, to Walsh Park.
The Waterford hurling public need to see a performance from their team in the heat of championship, whether they win or lose they just need to see them giving their all and hurling with more freedom than we have witnessed in a while.
Waterford are at their best when they are not overthinking tactically and are just out there hurling with the class and skill we know they all possess but just haven’t seen in a while. Small things, like playing their top forwards in the forwards and giving them the ball to do the damage, rather than having them drop back around their own 45 and hitting the ball into the space where they should be themselves. This just cannot continue if they want to create their own bit of history by getting out of Munster in the round-robin format.
Cork are a team with the potential to beat anyone in the country but also the potential to lose to anyone in the country. They usually like to make it a shootout but when they bring physicality, like they did for a spell against Kilkenny in the league, they are a serious force and they must realise that too. They have the skill, they have the hurlers, they just have to marry that with a ferocious work-rate and intensity and then they will always have a chance. If Pat Ryan can sit down tonight or tomorrow and have the option of picking as close to his best XV for this game, I think Cork will have too much Waterford and leave some questions still to be answered for the Decies come Sunday evening.
I believe there are a few matches on in Leinster too? I joke of course, lads, don’t be getting mad! But if you were to sum it up, it would be wins at their ease for Galway and Kilkenny, who will be getting ready for their real start of championship when they face each other in round two. The tie of the round is without doubt in Wexford Park, where Wexford welcome the Dubs. The winner of this, like the match in Walsh Park, will be in pole position for that third spot to get out of Leinster and based on what we have seen, you would have to say that Keith Rossiter and his men should get the job done on Sunday in front of what will be a large crowd of Wexicans that have really enjoyed watching their team so far this year.
The Dubs have really struggled throughout the league but will be at their strongest for this championship opener. Though I still think the price of their football success has been the demise of their hurling and I feel Wexford, who will also be hoping to welcome back many familiar faces to competitive action this weekend, will have too much for them on Sunday.
It’s mighty to be welcoming back championship hurling once again, but for me it’s still a little too early and doesn’t feel fully right. I’m all for the club player getting the time they need, and I still struggle on as one such player, but let’s push back the championship to May, the All-Irelands to mid-August, and everyone will still get all their games played comfortably, perhaps with all those players who will go to the USA this summer to live the dream for a few months.
Finally, a quick shout out to my own county Tipperary and to our senior camogie league champions of 2024. A great achievement for the group, their first national title since 2004, when my wife Joanne was part of the group. But a massive shout out to one player: the legend that is Mary Ryan from Moneygall. For 20 seasons she has played with the Tipp senior team, always giving her all and a leader in so many ways, and on Sunday she finally got to walk up the steps of the Hogan Stand and lift a national trophy over her head. A life lesson in never giving up. Well done, Mary. Roll on the weekend now.
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