Apologies for a complete lack of any hurling guff last week, in the busiest and best weekend for the sport of kings thus far this year. Wins for Waterford, Tipp, Kilkenny and Dublin seems them all progressing to inter-provincial finals (particular kudos to the Dubs for their first appearance since '91), as many would have predicted. Kilkenny must be delighted that Galway are in Leinster this year, as that's as good a game as they've got prior to July in many years, while Tipperary again looked as if they were passing around a bottle of whiskey at half-time, given their tendency to try and throw away leads.
Speaking of comebacks, a classic encounter took place in Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Wednesday night last, as Tipp and Cork Minors played out what seemed like an exhilirating 5-17 each draw. On account of work, I couldn't make it down to Cork, but accounts filtering through over the airwaves seemed to make it seem like one of the best games played at any grade in a long time. Disgracefully, no local radio station seemed to carry live commentary of the game. Anyway, onto the game: Cork led at one stage in the second half by five or six points, only for Tipp to claw their way back and go three points up, before Cork managed an injury time equalising goal (2-15 to 3-12 at that stage).
Tipp came out of the blocks in extra time with two goals in the first half, racing into an eight-point lead. Cork incredibly pegged them back, scoring two more goals themselves, and leading by two, when John "Bubbles" O'Dwyer came off the bench (he started the game, was substituted in the second half, came back on at end of second half, was subsituted again, and came back on again, scoring 2-6 in the process) and netted a Tipp goal, before a Cork 65 in injury time deservedly sent the game to a replay next Wednesday in Thurles at 7.30pm
It has the potential to be another absolute cracker.
Wanted: One competitive Leinster Hurling Championship
Last Seen: The 2004 Wexford V Offaly final after the Yellowbellies shocked Kilkenny in the last few minutes of the Semi Final.
Reward: A possible Leinster Championship if Kilkenny are caught off-guard, or even a sliver of hope for hurling folk in other parts of the country if somebody manages to run them close.
While yesterday’s Semi-Final draw threw up two potential crackers, with Wexford facing Dublin, and Kilkenny facing Leinster newbies Galway, the likelihood of the Cats not claiming their 11th Leinster Championship in twelve years is pretty, pretty slim. So slim, in fact, that the good burgers at a renowned bookies chain have Kilkenny at 1/4, Galway 4/1, Wexford at 10/1 and Dublin 16/1.
However, anything can happen on any given Sunday. Galway are something of an oddity in Leinster, and previous years would have had them at this time of the year preparing for a Connaught Final against Roscommon, or awaiting life straight into the qualifiers. Their league form this year was somewhat average, but do remember that they had their Portumna contingent out until after March 17th on club duty. Also, perhaps new manager John McIntyre didn’t put as much emphasis on the league as previous regimes, given that they actually had a provincial championship ahead of them.
Nonetheless, there isn’t a lot that the Tribesmen could have learned from their inaugural Leinster drubbing of Laois by 27 points. In all fairness, Kilkenny’s last game, the League Final against Tipp, was played at more of a Championship pace than the Laois game. Actually, scratch that; a game of tiddlywinks between Tipp and Kilkenny would have been more at Championship pace than that game. However, they must be pleased that Niall Healy and Damien Hayes showed up and took some of the scoring burden off Joe Canning’s big shoulders.
Galway rely hugely on Canning, obviously so given his immense natural talent, but like Tipperary with Eoin Kelly for many years, there may not be sufficient quality in the supporting cast. No better way to find out than a Championship game against Kilkenny, and if Noel Hickey is fit, his battle with Canning could possibly be one of the most intriguing contests of not just the year, but the decade.
On the other side, Dublin eased past Antrim yesterday by ten points, but some wayward shooting led to seventeen wides. Anthony Daly really seems to have Dublin believing in themselves this year, and their fantastic league performances need to translate into a big championship performance. Dublin have some nippy, good scoring forwards like David O’Callaghan and midfielder Alan McCrabbe is something of a talisman also. They ran Wexford, who have the hulking Stephen Banville (pictured) in their ranks, close last year and could just do enough this time around to make a Leinster Final.
The two games take place on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of June, and after a decade of Munster Championships where it seemed just about anybody could win it, we may finally get a few classic Leinster games.
