The next step

YOU can’t argue with success, but how the hell do you talk to failure? How do you face down over a century of submission, of abject failure?

As Limerick's star Gaelic football wing-back Damien Reidy left 'The Captains' in Glin last Saturday afternoon, having just watched another heroic Munster rugby performance, the question being debated was how could Munster possibly cope with the heartbreak of having come so close to the pinnacle of European rugby success for the last four years, only to be denied each time.

Reidy could have been forgiven a wry smile. 1896 was the last time Limerick tasted All-Ireland senior football success, never have they won at any other level. Not a single minor, U-21, junior or intermediate All-Ireland football championship. Yet even in failure, the cliches are all true, everything is still relative, and Damien can cast only an envious eye in the direction of Munster rugby.