This is going to be a war... and a draw

AS is my usual habit I visited both All-Ireland hurling final counties in the last week, to see what they’re getting up to in training and to gauge for myself the feeling in both camps — and among both sets of supporters.

The dominant impression I came away with, from both Tipperary and Kilkenny, was how calm everyone was, how cagey, but also, how low-key.

Is it a case of the calm before the storm? Because that’s what it seems like to me. In America they’ve just had Hurricane Irene – we could be in for our own hurricane here tomorrow, and I just think all I saw was that eerie calm you get just before the full force hits. Croke Park tomorrow, the senior game, I believe, is going to be a war, it’s going to make the Battle of Clontarf seem like a pillow-fight. The reasons I’m saying this, there’s a hurt in both camps. In Kilkenny it’s last year, the big loss to Tipperary; in Tipperary it’s because they feel they have never been given their proper due for that win, all the talk about Kilkenny missing Brian Hogan, about Henry Shefflin getting injured after only a few minutes. There’s even a double hurt for Kilkenny because a lot of people — Tipperary people especially — are also saying that Tipperary would have won the final of 2009 but for a few poor refereeing decisions. Between the two of them, that’s a lot of pain to be carrying in to one game.