Tell the truth: who expected this?

We know the answer to that one now, don’t we?

THE big question I’m going to ask here: who expected this? And I would include the Cork players and mentors, the Tipp players and mentors. Ten points – if anyone had told you beforehand that such was going to be the margin of victory, who would you have said was going to be the winner?

We now know one thing anyway – Cork weren’t serious about that league final. I didn’t hear a lot of people saying that beforehand, nor did they say it immediately afterwards either, but on this evidence, all Cork’s focus was on this game.

I wonder now too, though – in a few months’ time, will people be saying the same thing about Tipp and this game? Were Tipp looking ahead yesterday? That’s one question I have for Tipp themselves, especially – how tuned in were they? Because if they were serious, and were still this poor, it begs another question – is there a problem developing in Tipperary within the camp itself? I can’t answer that question, but on the basis of what I saw yesterday, I can ask it. Two fellas I saw playing well for Tipperary, midfielder Brendan Maher and wing-back/corner-back Michael Cahill – two novices, really. The rest? Completely dominated.

Their forwards were obliterated – some of them didn’t even challenge, and a sure sign of that is that you could nominate almost any one of the Cork backs for man-of- the-match and not have much of an argument. In midfield Brendan Maher – as noted – did well, but Shane McGrath struggled, was replaced eventually. In the backs Tipperary were also in trouble, evidenced when Pádraic Maher was shifted out of full-back – destroyed by Aisake O hAilpín – and Conor O’Mahony was taken off, the spine of the Tipp defence broken.

So much time had some of the Cork forwards for a few of their points that they could have stopped, sat down, had a cuppa tay and hang sangwich, and for good measure said a decade of the rosary, and still had time to score – that’s how poor the Tipperary defence was.

There wasn’t nearly enough intensity in their play, not enough bite. At this level, in the Munster championship, every ball is do-or-die, every break a savage battle for possession – that was the case at the Cork end, but definitely not the case with the Tipperary defence. For that lack, you pay a big price.

The thing is, we know this Tipperary team is capable of that kind of intensity, they showed it in the All-Ireland defeat to Kilkenny last September, but therein lies the question – has that defeat set them back? Because the reality is that they weren’t within an asses roar of Cork. They have this habit – and I’ve mentioned it before – of trying too hard to play the perfect ball every time, trying too hard to play perfect hurling. Sometimes you just have to let fly, let rip, let the man in front of you win his own ball, the hard and dirty ball.

Again yesterday there was a stark contrast here – Cork did exactly that, Tipp didn’t. In fact I saw a few fellas inclined to drop the head when things didn’t go exactly right for them – not good.

Why was Brian O’Meara left on for so long? This was a huge ask for any rookie, and it was O’Meara’s first start, but when it was so obvious so early that he was out of his depth, why was he left on for so long? Mind you, the more experienced fellas around him weren’t doing a whole lot better, and you could have asked the same question about a few of the Tipp forwards – why were they left on for so long? Anyway, enough about Tipp; they have problems, need to sort them out, must sort them out if they have the character we think they have.

To Cork, and I’ll start here with Denis Walsh. As a player Denis got the best out of himself, a 100 percenter; on this evidence yesterday, he’s doing the same thing as a manager, getting the best from his players and from his team. I was one of the many who would have liked to have seen one or two more changes to the Cork starting 15, but I did wonder if those players were out there, if Cork did in fact have anything better. We know the answer to that one now, don’t we?

Again, I have to start with the Cork keeper – Donal Óg Cusack dictates everything that happens with this team. For over ten years he’s been there now, and he’s been brilliant for Cork through all that time, a real leader on and off the field. So it was yesterday. So many other old and familiar heroes for Cork also in this game, but not enough space to mention them all; instead, I’ll go straight to the other end of the field, and a new Cork hero – Aisake O hAilpín. I’ve consistently questioned his hurling ability, but I’ve consistently also admired his tenacity, his work ethic. Yesterday, it all came together, and I’m delighted for him. How good are Cork? Can’t tell, because this wasn’t a great test for them, but one thing I do know – they’ll be in the Munster final anyway.