Brian Hogan: Tactical battles motivated by finding ways to beat Kilkenny

Amid raging debate about the growing prevalence of tactics in hurling, former Kilkenny All-Ireland-winning captain Brian Hogan argues that increased tactical awareness has been motivated by desire to find a way to beat the Cats.

Crediting the Cork team of the mid-noughties with starting the wave of tactical innovation, Hogan wrote in his column on gaa.ie: “Tactics aren’t a new phenomenon — they’ve been around in some form or other for a number of years — but they certainly became more prevalent with the success of the Cork team in 2004 and ’05. Their new, running, short-passing game ignited much debate back then, even among their own fans. Perhaps the emphasis on tactics during these years was driven from an effort to try and break Kilkenny’s run of success.”

With Tipperary’s emergence in the late 2000s, Hogan admits he was impressed by the county’s willingness to take on Kilkenny with little concern for their opponents’ reputation.