Shaping up for shadow boxing?

Though the Allianz Hurling League title race is still wide open, Diarmuid O’Flynn wonders how serious are the top counties about winning it?

WHEN IS a competition not a competition? When even its leading participants aren’t interested in winning.

That appears to be the case with this year’s Allianz Hurling League. Six teams qualified for the top group in the second series. Serious questions can be asked of at least four of those about their real League ambitions.

Given the manner in which they approached their two games to date in this final series, Waterford have made their objective crystal clear. They want to win, and with two wins, are strongly-placed to qualify for the final.

Galway also look serious about winning the title. With no provincial championship, the League has always been a target for Galway, and it’s no different this year for Conor Hayes.

“These are great games for Galway,” Hayes agreed, after their opening round win over Cork, “It’s fantastic to be playing Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, three of the top teams, in April, in a very competitive situation. And it’s almost knockout at this stage, you’re going back into a situation where you almost have to win your three games to qualify for the final. And that’s our aim, the League final; we’re not out until later in the year in the championship, and it would suit us to get that far, it would be great if we did.”

Like Waterford, prospects look good for Galway, who are at home to struggling Limerick in the final round on Sunday.

What of Cork, Clare, Tipperary and Limerick, however? Though they topped the first series, unbeaten in five games, Cork are out of the reckoning with two losses. Clare, Tipperary and Limerick, probably in that order, still have an outside chance of making the final, but how badly do they want to win this League?

The respective managers all sing more or less the same song. “We’re trying to win every match we play,” said Cork’s Donal O’Grady, after their opening series win over Limerick: “If we win some, we win some, if we don’t, we don’t.”

Would a Cork manager ever say that about a championship game?

Limerick’s Padjoe Whelahan, after that same game: “Everything we’re doing is geared for the Cork game in the Munster championship. At the moment, we haven’t a hope but hopefully we can change our style in time for that. Rome wasn’t built in a day. We have to use the League to experiment. It’s a learning process for us, and we are learning as we go along.”

Tipperary’s Ken Hogan, after beating Wexford in Wexford Park: “We felt it was going to be tough, but the lads came out and did very well. We’re happy with the win. Every game is a stepping-stone, you just work away.

“It’s important for us to win matches but having said that, come championship time, you’re getting ready, that’s your whole goal, and that’s what we’re working towards.”

Finally, Anthony Daly of Clare, the one who comes closest to saying what’s merely implied by the others.

“We’re playing every game as it comes, want to win every game. If we wind up in the League final, we’ll try to win the League final.

“But the championship is the priority, always, always. We’ve said that from the word go, said we’d be experimenting all the way through.”

That was after Sunday’s loss to Limerick, a game for which, despite the fact that three leading players were injured, Daly rested three more of his best and most experienced.

It’s not quite there, not in black- and-white, but reading between the lines, the word from four of the six managers in the top group of the National Hurling League is clear: while the games in the early rounds are appreciated, to finish in the top group a priority, actually winning the League outright is not.

So what value the title of 2004 NHL champions?

What value to the fans who pay their hard-earned euro to attend these non-events? What value to sponsors Allianz?

Much time and effort has been expended in the revamping of the All-Ireland championship by the Hurling Development Committee. Now that their proposals have been accepted by Congress, perhaps they should turn their attention to the League. As it stands, it is a pitiful and pitiable object, unworthy of the title ‘competition’. Use it or lose it, but don’t continue to abuse it.