Munster Senior Hurling Championship final preview: Cork need divine display to deny Limerick seventh heaven

RTÉ News​

9 hours ago

For a brief period there, it looked like Limerick might be vincible.
Denied the five-in-a-row last year. Held to a draw by a rebuilding Tipp in the opening round in Munster. Was the engine starting to wear in the once in a lifetime Green Machine?
The subsequent, more-comfortable-than-it-looked, win over Waterford and 16-point annihilation of the Cork side who beat them twice last season suggest the answer is no - same as it ever was.
Sure, John Kiely's men lost the last game of the round-robin to Clare, but that was with qualification already assured, eight changes, and facing eliminated All-Ireland champions and bitter rivals playing for pride.
Limerick set a new record of six consecutive Munster Senior Hurling Championship titles last year and are hot favourites to extend that to seven this evening.
Presumably, the provincial council didn't imagine renaming the Munster Cup after Treaty legend Mick Mackey (in 2022) would mean nobody else ever winning it again.
The high-scoring nature of hurling lends itself to big swings in results – Tipperary either lost narrowly to Kilkenny or hammered them in finals from 2009-19 – and Cork will surely improve on their performance three weeks ago. But will that be enough, back on enemy territory? Even if the crowd at the Gaelic Grounds is evenly split.
Kiely's selection of full-forward Aidan O'Connor for his first Limerick start in a Munster final is a signal of the strength-in-depth Limerick have developed. It seems a bit harsh on Shane O'Brien, who hit 1-08 from play in the opening two games before having less impact against Cork and Clare, but what is just as illustrative is the fact that Seamus Flanagan and Peter Casey now seem to be considered impact subs.
They are not the only former All-Stars/multiple All-Ireland winners warming a fearsome bench; Declan Hannon, hurling's most successful captain, Darragh O'Donovan and Shane Dowling (as sub-keeper) are all there too. As is Cathal O'Neill, who scored at least two points in all six of their championship games last year.
Barry Nash's versatility has taken him to wing-back, allowing Kyle Hayes to move into the centre-back role that ensures he will be more involved in play – Cork deliberately avoided his wing last July - and Will O'Donoghue to his preferred midfield spot.
The rain should have eased off by the 6pm throw-in, an advantage to a gameplan built on retaining possession, but Limerick will have to be careful with their handpasses – today's referee Thomas Walsh penalised them for three throws in the second half of their draw with Tipp.
A lot of air has leaked from the red balloons since Tipp were swatted aside in the league final, though in fairness to Pat Ryan he wasn't the one selling the notion that Corkness - "It drives me mad when I hear that [word]" – and early-season form after going so close in 2024 made an end to the 20-year All-Ireland drought inevitable.
The manager laughed off suggestions he had had one eye on this clash when the finalists met three weeks ago, insisting it was just "a bad performance" but also warning that "I can guarantee you we'll be able to perform in the final."
The Rebels seemed to lack the defensive work by the forwards and aggression that allowed them to compete with, and beat Limerick, twice last season, so that could be fixed at least.
But they are missing some significant personnel to injury, particularly in defence. Captain and centre-back Rob Downey (knee) and corner-back Niall O'Leary (groin), though both are named on the bench. Ger Millerick (broken finger), who had done well in the full-back line in O'Leary's absence.
Veteran Damien Cahalane will thus have his hands full with O'Connor or Aaron Gillane while Cormac O'Brien has the unenviable task of trying to contain Gearóid Hegarty on his second championship start.
Another absentee is Declan Dalton (hamstring), who relishes the physical onslaught Limerick always bring and offered a long-range threat comparable to Diarmaid Byrnes in last year's electric semi-final victory. Diarmuid Healy has big boots to fill on what is also his first time in a championship XV.
Cork's stand-in captain Shane Barrett will try to test Hayes, Ryan having decided that Darragh Fitzgibbon's roaming instincts might be better served in midfield than at centre-forward. If he can get away from O'Donoghue and the conductor Cian Lynch, who is likely to direct proceedings even if assigned a man-marker.
As Brendan Cummins identified, Cork might need their half-forwards working back to let the half-back line sit, or else risk conceding fatal amounts of space to Gillane and Co. That could also open up the space for the running attack that caused Limerick issues last year but they would need Brian Hayes to win a lot of ball for Alan Connolly and the now 37-year-old Patrick Horgan to maintain the potent goal threat they surely need to turn the tables.
Nobody will be out at the final whistle (which could be after extra-time, or preceding penalties) but a second trouncing by their neighbours might challenge even that famous Cork confidence. Like Clare last year, they could be left hoping that someone else takes Limerick out before the final. Win against the odds and the hype will explode again. A more competitive defeat would still leave room for improvement.
Victory would be same as it ever was for this Limerick team, who haven't gone through the back-door since their breakthrough triumph of 2018, the last time the Rebels reigned in Munster. That year was the least convincing of their five All-Ireland triumphs, albeit with a very young team, and it's hard to imagine Dublin doing more than softening them up for the Leinster champions.
It wasn't enough last year but Kiely believes the four-week break for the provincial winners is a prize "worth fighting for". They have yet to lose a final under his watch. Cork will need plenty of fight if they are to change that.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English, Will O'Donoghue; Gearóid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Aidan O'Connor, David Reidy.
Subs: Shane Dowling, Peter Casey, Colin Coughlan, Seamus Flanagan, Declan Hannon, Barry Murphy, Shane O'Brien, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh, Darragh O'Donovan, Patrick O'Donovan, Cathal O'Neill.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Damien Cahalane, Eoin Downey, Seán O'Donoghue; Cormac O'Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Diarmuid Healy, Shane Barrett, Seamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.
Subs: Brion Saunderson, Niall O'Leary, Rob Downey, Tommy O'Connell, Ethan Twomey, Luke Meade, Shane Kingston, Jack O'Connor, Brian Roche, Robbie O'Flynn.