Munster final will be more than a game

On the basis that the hurling summer may not get better than this, let’s rejoice with Limerick and be glad while we can

John Allen

Predictably the coolest of men on the hottest of days. Planned for a 20-man game and executed it superbly. In the process Limerick demonstrated that Division 1B hurling need be no more than a state of mind, with their tally of four wides speaking volumes about the lucidity of their decision-making. Now that they’ve broken the glass in the ceiling, new vistas open up before them: Munster titles not only in this anniversary year but in the coming years (and in their wilder dreams, if Kilkenny had the decency to just shag off, All-Irelands too). Some underdog victories hinge on abstruse tactical masterstrokes. Some, like last Sunday’s, are founded on virtues no more exotic than old-fashioned determination and hunger. With Limerick involved, the Munster final will be more than a fixture. It’ll be an event. We have a championship and it has a pulse.