Westmeath will have to learn the hard way

WHEN Westmeath defeated Dublin in the Leinster SHC quarter-final three weeks ago, one wise head claimed there was only one crucial difference between the teams.

His theory was a simple one.

Having been on the end of countless trimmings against Kilkenny in recent years, Dublin basically weren’t all too keen at the prospect of welcoming them to Parnell Park in the next round.

Westmeath, on the other hand, would have sold their souls for the opportunity to bring Brian Cody’s side to Mullingar.

This was simply too good an opportunity, and that hunger told against Dublin in Portlaoise.

True or not, they enter tonight’s Leinster semi-final with their eyes wide open. The last time they played the Cats was in 1989 and a loss of similar proportions to that 27-point reversal would surprise no one. Critics of Leinster hurling will use today’s game as yet more ammunition with which to launch their attacks. Especially, if Kilkenny run riot.

Last year, the nadir seemed to have been reached when Kilkenny filleted Offaly by 31 points in the provincial semi-final. Wexford managed to rescue the entire championship by coming within three points of them in the final, but the statistics don’t lie.

Last year’s title was Kilkenny’s seventh in eight years and, for the rest there is no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.

Offaly have arisen from the depths of 12 months ago, Wexford should still be good for one ferocious performance per year, but anything other than another Kilkenny crown this year would come careering out of left field.

Compare that to the route the Munster finalists and any of the All-Ireland qualifiers will have to negotiate to reach the quarter-finals and Kilkenny risk reaching the last eight seriously undercooked.

“I wouldn’t really see that,” counters captain and defender Jackie Tyrrell. “If you look at Offaly’s form in the league, they are going to be there or thereabouts.

“They have some fine hurlers. They have reshaped their team and look a real threat. Wexford are also going to be there. Competition within Leinster will be tough so I wouldn’t see that as any hindrance to us.”

This may be a case of fitting square pegs into round holes here, but is it any wonder that Munster’s top team -Cork — treated the league with a casual air, whereas Leinster’s top men had a much more serious approach? The reasons behind the league results of both teams run much deeper, of course. Whereas Cork approached February with an enviously settled first 15, Kilkenny had some surgery to perform.

Tyrrell may be captain but he is one of about half a dozen potential starters who have relatively few miles on their inter-county clock.

Winning the league was proof positive that Cody’s latest concoction was driving down the right road.

“We were delighted with it because Brian puts great emphasis on the league and that caught on amongst the players. We see it as a national title and the competition for places is so big in Kilkenny that, any time you get a jersey, you want to hold onto it.”

Tyrrell doesn’t feel his new role brings with it any added pressure.

“It’s a great honour for me to captain Kilkenny. It was great to get the (NHL) cup on behalf of the lads but I’m just one player on the team. There are other leaders in the dressing room and I don’t see my role as any more important than the rest of the boys.”

Rightly or wrongly, there has been one other perceived alteration to Kilkenny this year. Students of the game claim they are beginning to play an almost Cork-style short possession game.

“There’s no truth in that,” he insists. “If the media want to build that up they can. Things have changed at club and county level in recent years but we’re not gone out of out way to adopt any short game tactics. We play to our game plan.”