Banner must reach new level

There are those who look at the Clare team for this game in Thurles this evening, the all-senior half-back line (Seadna Morey, Conor Ryan, Patrick O’Connor), the established senior stars in midfield (Colm Galvin) and up front (Aaron Cunningham, Tony Kelly, Conor McGrath), then look at Kilkenny against Galway last week in the All-Ireland senior final, not a single U21 player with even a minute of game-time, and think — Clare’s final to lose, surely.

That’s not how the oddsmakers see it, however, and not how it’s seen here either. As Galway, another senior star-laden side, found to their cost in the semi-final, this is a well-balanced Kilkenny team, with more than its fair share of stars. We all know why those guys haven’t yet broken onto the senior team, and even though Brian Cody has been changing the mix very gradually over the years, you’re not going to displace players of the calibre of those who still grace the Kilkenny senior team very easily. Given time, however, you’ll hear more from many of this team. Full-back Willie Phelan, centre-back Richie Doyle, midfielder Cillian Buckley and corner-forward Walter Walsh have all already seen senior duty, albeit mainly as panellists, but there are others, not least John Power and Ger Aylward in attack. Clare will be doing very well to even contest this final with Kilkenny, never mind win it. The Kittens beat Galway by seven points in that semi-final, scored 4-16 in the process (it ended 4-16 to 2-15), but it was even more convincing than that. They didn’t just outhurl Galway, they totally outworked them. Clare will need to be at their best here, completely clued in and committed. If they are...

* Verdict: Clare