John Kiely: 'It’s a collective effort as well as individual brilliance'

'The fact that it was played throughout the summer was a great thing, it allowed the players to express themselves and produce magic'

Limerick manager John Kiely: ‘I know a lot is being made of Cork’s speed but I assure you we’re no slouches ourselves’. Picture: Stephen McCarthy

The upcoming All-Ireland final seems a long way from the early days of the Allianz Hurling League, when managers were complaining about changes to the game.

Limerick boss John Kiely was one of them, of course.

“Sure we all have our moments, don’t we? It was a senior moment, maybe.

“We’ve all upped our game throughout the season and maybe certain frustrations at the outset might have been a combination of a number of different factors.

“But I think we can agree it’s been a very good championship, the players have risen to the challenge and produced some incredible moments, incredible games, from all the participating teams.

“We’re blessed with what we have. The fact that it was played throughout the summer was a great thing, it allowed the players to express themselves and produce the magic we’ve seen in the last few weeks.”

Kiely’s enjoying the preparations for this decider more than last year’s: “We’ve had a few wet evenings but it’s been mostly very mild. It’s lovely, we’ve sat out and had an ice cream after training on occasion, it’s just much better. You can hurl.

It’s a different type of hurling and it’s definitely a more welcome scenario to hurl in the summer than in the winter.

To make the decider they had to overcome Waterford, the side they faced in last year’s All-Ireland final: “They’re a super side, make no bones about that.

It was tough on them being out four weeks in a row but they’re a super, super side. They put huge energy into the first ten minutes of the second half and they were rewarded by getting it down to six points.

“Our guys, true to form, kept their composure and didn’t panic, waited for the opportunity and when it arose, Gearoid (Hegarty), Peter (Casey) and Aaron (Gillane) all combined to show a streak of ruthlessness we know that’s there.”

The Galbally man acknowledged Cork and Kilkenny’s “titanic battle” in the other semi-final, “the way it ebbed and flowed. Of course, Kilkenny are never beaten until the whistle is blown, they came and did what they do so well. It was a fantastic game. Cork have clearly had a great championship and are going to bring a serious challenge in the final. That’s how it should be. Our job is to bring as big a challenge as we can and I’ve no doubt it’ll be a great battle.

“(In 2019) Cork came to Limerick and put in a huge performance, they blew us away in the Munster championship, we didn’t perform that day.

“The narrative of being a bogey team I don’t buy into, these games are all on the day, we all have our parameters around what we’re chasing - we’ll go after it the way we’ve always done and we’ll try to bring the best performances we can bring.

“I know a lot is being made of Cork’s speed but I assure you we’re no slouches ourselves.

“Maybe more teams have incorporated it as part of their game, there’s less long delivery of the ball from one end of the ball to the other, and possession is valued more highly.

“As a result, there are more support runners supporting the player in possession.

It’s all part of the evolution of the game, coaches bring in parts that become wider aspects of how teams play.

Kiely enjoyed the distraction of the Olympics this summer, courtesy of his daughters’ interest in the Games.

“They’ve gotten to know the likes of Natalya Coyle and Kellie Harrington, all the athletes, all the sports — they’re fascinated by all the sports, like every child in the country. My girls went down to Kellie’s house on Saturday, on the way to the match (All-Ireland semi-final), and got their photograph taken there.

“They’re fans and look up to athletes like that as well, dreaming of what might be for them, too. It’s great, it’s great for Dublin, which had a really tough time with Covid. It’s great for every community to have sportspeople to do something to lift the spirits.”

He's keen to see humility as a “big factor” in his own team.

“It’s obviously very satisfying to be in the final but it’s no good being there unless you perform, and I know what that’s like.

“Of course the boys have been through a lot over the last few years, as much as there’s been success, in their own lives they’ve had the normal challenges, and the last couple of years have been particularly challenging. Some members of the group have lost family members and friends, all those grounding experiences and tragedies, stuff which is above and beyond sport.

“We’re all aware it’s a very privileged position that we’re in as a group, and that we need to be cognisant of the fact that it’s a privilege and an honour - something to be treasured, not something for us to feel has made any difference to us other than this is what we do, we play sport, we play hurling.

“So humility is a big factor in our group and I’d hope that can be seen in how they play.”

When it comes to the specifics, Kiely says Limerick have worked hard on defending this summer.

“All the teams are trying to engineer more goal-scoring chances, and teams are working harder to deny those goal chances.

“Some of those pieces of defending (against Waterford) were exemplary in terms of the timing, the technical ability to deliver it, and the collective unit working together. One player would do one piece then it rolls over to the next guy, and the next guy. That’s the most pleasing part, that it’s a collective effort as well as individual brilliance.

Is that coaching or character?

“It’s both, but we have worked hard on it in training. (Coach) Paul Kinnerk put huge work on it over the summer and the players have responded.”

Hence the importance of being surrounded by the right people?

“Absolutely, I’m not qualified in any of that (strength and conditioning) and that’s why they’re there, why they studied that - so they could contribute to decisions like that.

“Every team is working with that level of expertise behind them, to try to peak at the right time, to improve incrementally, and our coaches have gotten that right over the last four or five years.”

Win, lose or draw Sunday, of course, there’s no celebration for the players in Dublin - it’s back home to Limerick. Is that a disappointment?

“That’s just the way it is, unfortunately. It is what it is and we’ve known that from the outset, so we’re not one bit worried about that. The match is all that matters and that’s what our focus is on.”