Early days but Waterford have reason to be cheerful
Two rounds gone and everybody in Division 1A of the National Hurling League has won a match and lost a match.
Early days, then, but that doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of talking points. Let’s look at a few of them. Are all six counties equally happy or are some happier than others?
The latter. Waterford have reason to be happiest and Tipperary reason to be among the least happy, although, clearly, unease and disappointment are pretty loose concepts this side of St Patrick’s Day.
Two good performances to date, the first of which — at Semple Stadium — was worthy of at least a point. Derek McGrath’s tenure has got off to a solid start, which will only enhance the new manager’s credibility. And against Galway last time out, Waterford hit 0-22. That was more than just a winning tally; it was potentially a turn in the road, or at any rate a taster of high-scoring days ahead, because it represented a giant step forward in their scoring rate. Last season, Waterford failed to raise more than 16 white flags in any of their five league outings. All in all, it’s been an encouraging few weeks on Suirside, what with Waterford IT recapturing the Fitzgibbon Cup with a team that contained six locals, unprecedented for the college, among them their two leading scorers: Pauric Mahony and Jake Dillon. Waterford hurling is now in a place it has never been, even during the full dazzle of Mullane, Big Dan and the boys, blessed with a reservoir of half a decade’s worth of successful minor teams bubbling under. That they won last year’s All-Ireland in the grade through the back door is irrelevant; they have been producing so many capable minor outfits that, some summer, the ball was bound to finally hop their way.
Poor performance in victory against Waterford and the wrong side of a 16-point turnaround against Kilkenny in defeat. Looking on the bright side, at least the 16-point turnaround happened in late February rather than mid-April; Kieran McGeeney will now be fully aware of the task on his hands. As for Eamon O’Shea, in a sense he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. The forwards don’t win enough of their own ball? Then pushing a brawny wing-back like Kieran Bergin up front and seeing if he floated was a perfectly sensible course of action. But Bergin didn’t float in Nowlan Park and suddenly the manager is back to square one. One thing O’Shea can’t afford to do is dive for the panic button. The retention of Bergin, Jason Forde and Paddy Murphy tomorrow indicates he hasn’t. He will, however, sooner or later have to bite the bullet in respect of Seamus Callanan and Noel McGrath. Even if they hit 4-4 from play between them last time out, as a duo they constitute one luxury item too far.
It is. Kilkenny’s visit to Ennis was not merely a fixture in February, it was — because of the identity of the visitors — an opportunity for Clare to make a statement about who they were and how they intended to continue about their business. This was a day for pride and self-expression, for bringing out their ceremonial regalia and walking like kings should. And Clare did. In the closing 10 minutes, they had the maturity to seize the day. Forget the defeat at Parnell Park the following week; the MacCarthy Cup holders poured so much of themselves into Cusack Park as to be running on empty a week later. Beating Kilkenny and losing to Dublin was infinitely preferable to the other way around.
Yes. Cathal O’Connell from Clonlara. Fifteen minutes as a sub versus Kilkenny, half an hour versus Dublin and scored a point on each occasion.
O’Connell is, shall we say, vertically challenged. (Hey, some of the best people are). Well as he hurled in the 2012 All Ireland U21 final, when he bagged 1-2 from play, the instant impression that night in Thurles was that he was simply too small to kick on and be a force at senior. And that was understandable, for among the most notable side-effects of hurling’s long journey into a game for articulated trucks — the physicality of Loughnane’s Clare followed by the athleticism of noughties Cork followed by the full-court press of Cody’s Kilkenny — was the disenfranchisement of the small lad. Hurling became size-ist. The elves were swallowed up in a landscape of cyborgs. It was as if Seanie McGrath and Joe Deane had become wisps of a half-remembered dream. Then along came Davy, and he brought with him Conor McGrath (5’10’’), Colm Galvin (5’10’’) and Podge Collins (5’7’’). O’Connell is officially 5’7’’ too. Is it really only three years since Michael Fennelly, all 6’4’’ of him, was Hurler of the Year? Perhaps O’Connell will not kick on and be a force at senior. Perhaps he’ll be effective in a winning team, perhaps a good impact sub. Whatever the outcome, hurling is a place of welcome for the handy little ballplayer again. Great.
A stated aim of Brian Cody’s was to use the league to develop his panel. An unstated aim was to use it to shape a new defence with younger legs. In the latter regard he’s off to flyer; the rearguard that finished the Tipp match included none of JJ Delaney, Tommy Walsh, Brian Hogan or Jackie Tyrrell. It’s not hard to infer that Clare’s success last year made an overhaul of his defence even more of an imperative for Cody. That the above quartet were reaching the end of their inter-county lifespan was inarguable, but to field any defender in 2014 incapable of keeping pace with his direct opponent would be negligent. Incidentally, in the unlikely event Derek Lyng and James McGarry were unaware inter-county hurling is not about false sentiment, they do now, after the management decision to call ashore Walsh and Hogan at half-time a fortnight ago. Old comrades, yes, but that counted for nothing. Nor should it have.
There’s every chance of it. Unless Liam Dunne conjures a rabbit from the hat, promotion will be decided by which of Cork and Limerick has the better scoring difference. Cork had seven points to spare after a game of two halves in O’Moore Park but Limerick had 23 points to spare next day against Antrim. Bad news for Offaly, yet to face Cork or Limerick.
Finally, a treble tomorrow to cover my Cheltenham expenses... Kilkenny (v Galway), Waterford (v Dublin) and Clare (v Tipp).
