All-Ireland SHC final: 10 things recent Cork-Tipp meetings have told us
FOCUS: Tipperary boss Liam Cahill. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
And first prize for stating the obvious goes to… yes, we get you. When the two finalists who combined have scored 31 goals (Cork 17, Tipperary 14) and conceded 24 (Cork 11, Tipperary 13) it’s an easy conclusion to reach. But it’s what they bring out in each other that is the greatest reason to believe green flags will be plentiful. Their last eight championship meetings have yielded three goals or more and the average is almost four goals per match while Cork have scored four in each of their last three clashes.
Back-to-back hat-tricks would be a tall order for most but the Blackrock man achieved that feat in last year’s league and later scored a trio of goals against Tipperary in their championship meeting. In three SHC clashes with the neighbours, he has scored 5-1, his latest goal coming three months ago.
With late scores, Morris going back to his under-age years has been the bane of Cork. Also, in four straight senior championship games, he found the net against them and in each of his last three has produced three points from play. His total in the counties’ three 2025 meetings is 1-7.
In their Munster meeting the match-ups began: Seán O’Donoghue v Darragh McCarthy, Eoin Downey v John McGrath, Niall O’Leary v Jason Forde, Ciarán Joyce v Darragh Stakelum, Rob Downey v Jake Morris, Mark Coleman v Conor Bowe and Robert Doyle v Alan Connolly, Eoghan Connolly v Brian Hayes, Michael Breen v Patrick Horgan, Sam O’Farrell v Seamus Harnedy, Ronan Maher v Darragh Fitzgibbon and Bryan O’Mara v Declan Dalton. McCarthy’s red card before the throw-in made a hash of some of Cahill’s plans and U20 All-Ireland winning captain O’Farrell is now in the forwards. Cahill probably didn’t get a true indication of whether O’Mara is more suited to marking Dalton or speedster Barrett. Eoghan Connolly would seem tailor-made to shadow Hayes again. At the other end, O’Donoghue will surely pick up McCarthy again. Rob Downey will have a height advantage on Andrew Ormond but Ormond is resilient. Joyce has to be the man for Morris.
It’s one thing to start poking hurleys into each other in the second round of the Munster SHC but on hurling’s biggest day referee Liam Gordon isn’t going to tolerate the mass of clashes that broke out prior to their meeting in April. Besides, it can be counter-productive, Waterford’s moves prior to the 2008 All-Ireland final against Kilkenny being the case in point. Too much is on the line to be too silly.
Cork will be hoping Tipperary don’t come back to avenge their Munster defeat as Clare eventually did in 2013. However, it is the only time in four all-Munster All-Ireland finals in which the team victorious in the province has lost on the ultimate stage. Clare pulled off two wins over Cork last year as their predecessors did against Tipperary in 1997 as Limerick did in 2020 when they beat Waterford twice. And best mention league-All-Ireland final doubles too. Cork are aiming to emulate the likes of Limerick two years ago, Kilkenny in 2009 and ‘14 and Tipperary in 1950. No team has reversed a league defeat in the All-Ireland decider against the same opposition.
One can imagine Noel McGrath this week telling his younger team-mates about 2010 and ’19 and how Tipperary came back from 10 and 12-point tankings against Cork and Limerick in Munster to later win All-Irelands. And those losses were with 15 men. Tipperary parked April’s 15-point loss to Cork when they beat Clare in Ennis two weeks later, something Cork had failed to do the previous month. If one other hurling county has a superiority complex, it’s Tipperary.
Conor Bowe started the game in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh yet can’t make the Tipperary panel now. Gearóid O’Connor came off the bench in that game having began the Division 1 final at the same venue three weeks earlier yet has also been absent from the squad. That game was goalkeeper Barry Hogan’s last before being replaced by Rhy Shelly. As for Cork, Ethan Twomey seems to be the biggest fall guy from Cork’s one defeat to Limerick. After three starts, he has seen no action since being dropped for the final Munster SHC round victory over Waterford.
Obviously, all the Cork group know what it takes and feels like to defeat Tipperary in championship but only seven of the Tipp panel have experienced the boot being on the other foot. Breen, Ronan Maher, John and Noel McGrath, Forde, Morris and Willie Connors all played in November 2020 when the county defeated Cork in an All-Ireland qualifier. Since then, the SHC record reads three Cork wins and one draw and their average margin in those wins is a pounding 15 points.
We will preface our point by stating the incredible statistic by Peter McNamara that leading hurler of the year candidate Hayes has scored or assisted 20 of Cork’s 35 championship goals (10 goals, 10 direct assists). However, Tipperary’s triumvirate of McCarthy, McGrath and Forde in seven SHC appearances have amassed 9-90 (an average of 18 points per game and McCarthy was suspended for one game) compared to the Cork’s trio of Horgan, Hayes and Connolly’s 12-67 in six (17 points per game). However, 45% of those Tipp’s scores came from frees/65s whereas Horgan’s placed balls account for less than 40%.
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