Kilkenny yearning just never wanes
If you could put a saddle on them they’d win the Gold Cup of a Wednesday, the Grand National on Saturday, and I’d say they’d go on to win the Aga Khan on the Sunday — if Brian Cody was the man in the saddle. What a team.
Cody has often been quoted as saying that these lads just love hurling — that was there in abundance in Nowlan Park again yesterday. They have everything — touch, pace, athleticism, but they also play a very manly game. You could see they were enjoying themselves, you could see the hunger in them, from Noel Hickey — at corner-back! — up to Matt Ruth at corner-forward.
And the Kilkenny supporters really enjoy them as well, you can feel them rising to Tommy Walsh for example, every time he’s on the ball. They love that boldness he has, the swagger he plays with, and why not? And Tommy revels in it himself.
Eoin Larkin — look at the touch he has, the goal he got yesterday, even after being denied on his initial attempt. Look at Michael Rice, his work-rate, his intelligence on the ball. But above all, and a man I’ve always earmarked for greatness, Richie Power.Brilliant skill, brilliant vision, courage, and the pace to go with all that as well. If he can get consistency into his game, Richie could join the greats, but he’ll have some very familiar company from among his own team-mates.
We’ve known before now how good this team is but this hunger they have! I know they all took the hurley to school with them all those years ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them still take their hurley to bed. They keep winning, year after year, but people don’t tire of watching them — I don’t anyway.
As individuals — and we all know who they are — but most especially as a team, they have brought hurling to a new level and we should all be grateful to them for that. This was ‘only’ a league game, it’s still only February, but they treated it like it was Croke Park in September — that’s what makes them special.
Which brings me to Tipperary. Tipperary did not treat this game yesterday like anything depended on it, never mind their status as the second-best team in the land. Their lack of passion was obvious from the start. They should have used this occasion in Nowlan Park to make a statement about themselves, about their intent for this year — they didn’t.
Look, you’re not going to beat Kilkenny with direct ball, not every ball anyway; you have to run at Kilkenny, you have to go up the gut and take the hits that go with it. Tipperary didn’t. And the pity is, Tipperary do have the players who can play that running game, and when they did that towards the end yesterday — fellas like Brendan Maher — it was a lot more effective.
Tipp’s attack was very poor from the start. Noel McGrath was playing well in the first half — why didn’t Tipp target him more, bring him into the game? His own teammates should have spotted that — they didn’t. Individually and collectively, Tipperary failed yesterday — they need to have a long, hard look at themselves, and I mean the players.
A few exceptions; the two corner-backs played well, Donagh Maher (making his debut) and Michael Cahill. Donagh’s brother Shane also made an impressive return to action, but apart from those and substitute Shane Bourke, Tipp played second fiddle everywhere in Nowlan Park.
I heard critical talk afterwards about the Tipperary management team, foolish talk. I’d like to remind those Tipp supporters — it took the previous management team three years to win their All-Ireland.
No, Tipp’s problems aren’t with management, they’re with the players themselves. You can’t turn up for work with the attitude they had yesterday; they should look at the guys they were facing, at the attitude they have, and take their example from that.
To finish, on my way in to the game I met two of the greatest ambassadors Kilkenny hurling has ever had, one of whom followed the other — Eddie Keher and DJ Carey.
They too had that hunger I’m talking about, right through their careers; they didn’t create it but they carried it on. They have very worthy successors now again. Who’s going to stop them? Not Tipperary, unless the players have a long, hard and honest look at themselves.
In the other games, great wins for Cork, Galway, Clare and especially, for Antrim, beating Wexford even without the Loughgiel players. Watch Offaly too, they could be Clare’s biggest threat in that division.
