NOBODY REMEMBERS LOSING losing semi-finalists – accept the losing semi-finalists themselves – they remember it all too well.
I’ve been on the wrong side in more of these games than I’d like and know well how it can creep up and torment you at any given moment in the months which follow.
The sense of missed opportunity haunts your days until you get a chance to put it right.
Donncha O’Callaghan came in to talk to us with Cork once before the championship season. We were in a good place, he said. Our championship was a couple of weeks away. Munster had recently gone out of European competition. “I have to wait six months,” he said of the purgatory ahead.
Clare and Galway have had 12 months to stew on their shortcomings. You could say they’re lucky to have another shot, or that luck has nothing to do with it because they’ve earned their chance while Limerick and Kilkenny have done their bit to make it a repeat of the last four pairings from 2022.
Either way, Clare and Galway will both be aware that they have to seize their opportunity this time. Are either well placed to go a step further now?
If I was betting – which I certainly am not – I’d find reason enough to put a tenner on either Clare or Kilkenny. I struggle to see Limerick losing, but it’s not beyond possibility.
Certain things need to happen. Conor Whelan’s scoring load has to be shared. If, say, an Aaron Gilliane or Seamus Flanagan has an off day then you know a Tom Morrissey or Gearóid Hegarty will score heavily, and there will be scoring a contribution from the half-back line too.
You just cannot say the same for Galway. It’s essential that players such as Evan Niland and Conor Cooney max out their potential on the day, scoring well and keeping Limerick’s defenders fully occupied.
Limerick’s injuries present a challenge to them and an opportunity to Galway. How many teams could afford to lose one of the best defenders of the past several seasons, Sean Finn, their linchpin centre-back, Declan Hannon, while having their creative orchestrator, Cian Lynch, struggling to find his flow following injuries? Only Limerick – but they cannot be as strong in the circumstances.
Limerick are left to ponder whether they start with, say, Dan Morrissey at No 6 as they did in the league final – a stopper who will hold the centre. Or they could do bring Kyle Hayes to centre-back, where he has experience from his U21 days.
Hayes is a versatile, intelligent hurler – a phenomenon really – but there is a risk in placing him here. His instinct is to attack, so you either have to lose that side of his game or give him a certain amount of scope to roam, which leaves you vulnerable.
Waterford did not profit from such a decision this season, replacing the injured Tadhg de Búrca at centre-back with Callum Lyons – who is an outstanding hurler, but someone whose game is to attack and run. Far from a like-for-like replacement, which can unbalance a team.
If Hayes plays at centre-back you’d be tempted to put Niland on him. The instruction would be not to mix it with him physically – not just pointless, self-defeating – but to move Hayes around as much as possible, find half-moments of space and pick off points.
Yet as appealing as any notion is when first considered, it’s tempered by the reality that Limerick players are all able to do the job they are assigned, with little fuss. I’m reminded of one play against Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2021. Hayes’ man drifted in behind and he just pointed to Barry Nash, who immediately left his spot to cover the danger. Once that was done Barry reverted seamlessly to his role.
Galway are a similar outfit to Cork for a lot of the years during my career. Onlookers wouldn’t be sure which version would turn up. Henry Shefflin has given them more of a gritty edge. They are beginning to slowly resemble his Kilkenny team in that respect, but remain sorely different in crucial ways.
Where Kilkenny had multiple scoring threats, Galway are limited. Where Kilkenny time and again took the smart option on the ball, Galway do not.
Kilkenny were not noted for their intricate passing patterns but they knew when and how to get the ball forward. Galway’s delivery is frustrating. Often it doesn’t come at all, with successive long-range efforts being fired off. Then after a couple of momentum-killing wides they will try yet another long shot, with Whelan inside yearning for a ball he can attack.
For Galway to win it will take a combination of superior and consistent workrate, improved decision making and marksmanship. And goals. We’ve not seen close to that from them over 70 minutes so far this season. They can do it for spells – but now have to put it all together. And hope that Limerick, depleted by the absence of key men, aren’t at their true level. I just feel there are too many conditions to be met for a Galway win and Limerick will prevail, not necessarily by a lot, but they’ll get the task done.
Were I to be somehow told now the winner of Kilkenny-Clare now, neither outcome would surprise me.
The potential repeat match-up of Mikey Butler and Tony Kelly is fascinating. Whatever about Clare, Kelly has been told all year that he failed to fire last season when it mattered the most, in Croke Park. As the talisman, this will hurt.
Should Butler follow him again then it makes sense for him to move away from goal, into the centre-forward position and beyond, try and give him an even bigger runaround than last year.
John Conlon’s absence last year through injury was crushing for Clare. His presence now, his ability to lock down the defence from the centre, is vital.
Clare’s extra game, against Dublin, should be more of a help than an energy-drainer. Mark Rodgers coming to the fore, giving a taste of his immense potential, is a positive.
I know Mark fairly well through UL. He’s driven, quiet, but good craic with it. He’s my kind of forward, in that his first thought is can I get a goal? His instinct is to attack defenders and be direct.
He missed a lot of last season with Clare due to an injury he picked up in the Fitzgibbon. Mark could have well stayed away from university hurling this year but, no, he gave us unbelievable commitment and was key to our ultimate success. He’s strong, skilful and has a fantastic attitude. If he avoids injury he’ll be a phenomenal player for Clare in the years ahead. Trust me, we’ve only had a taste so far of what he’s about.
My feeling this year since the Munster final is that a Clare-Limerick trilogy will define 2023.
Then my counter thought is whether or not this is Munster arrogance. Am I, like many others, too in thrall to the Munster championship? If Kilkenny hurling is about anything, it’s routinely winning Leinster finals and All-Ireland semi-finals, no matter who they or the opposition have playing on the day.
Nobody thought Kilkenny would beat Clare by 12 points at this time last year. And despite the evidence of seeing it happen, we still can’t envisage a repeat.
This prediction could well leave me and others looking foolish, but I think the level Clare have reached against Limerick so far this year shows they are neck-and-neck with the best. That allied to their desire to exorcise the memory of last year’s semi-final gives them the edge. Clare and Limerick to go to round three.