Terrific Tipperary topple champions without mercy

A black and amber shadow has finally been removed from the hurling championship . . . and unlike the aftermath of 2010, it mightn’t be returning for some time. In suffering their heaviest September defeat since 1964, Kilkenny were made to look mere mortals again as they simply couldn’t cope with Tipperary’s forward artistry and their overall intensity in another titanic battle between the teams.

The new champions had made a virtue in the build-up to the final of matching Kilkenny’s celebrated work ethic and they were true to their promise at Croke Park last Sunday. Tipperary hunted in packs, threw themselves into tackles, forced a series of morale-lifting turnovers and were the much sharper team in ending a desperate run of big-day results against the Cats.

Even more significant, however, was the blinding quality of Tipperary’s attacking performance. John McGrath, John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer and Seamus Callanan, who became the first individual to score nine points from play in an All-Ireland final, took the Kilkenny full back line to the cleaners, and with Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher and Dan McCormack thundering into challenges outside them, it proved a nightmare day for the opposition defence.

Vastly improved from their jittery effort in just overcoming Galway in the semi-final, Tipperary produced some swashbuckling hurling and were in no mood for compromise. Some careless wides prevented them from leading by more than two points at the break, but after a difficult start to the second half they went on to destroy Kilkenny by 2-14 to 1-6 from the 45th minute, with only several superb saves from Eoin Murphy preventing the titles holders from being wiped out altogether.

Through virtually all this dismantling, Brian Cody and the Kilkenny sideline appeared paralysed about how to stop the haemorrhaging, only bringing on two substitutes in the 61st minute w en they game was already gone from them. Either they had no trust in what was on the bench or the Cats’ sideline just had a meltdown. Any other management would be pilloried for allowing an unchanged full back line to be ransacked for a staggering 2-15 from play.

To Kilkenny’s credit, they fought to the finish – Padraig Walsh had a whale of a match at wing back – but overall they were submerged by Tipperary’s sheer desire and hunger. Though you’d be tempting fate to write their obituary, Sunday’s eclipse was so total and their defence so pulverised that they must be heading into something of a transition period. True, Michael Fennelly was an awful loss and they spurned a couple of goal chances of their own, but the bottom line is that they were lucky only to be beaten nine points.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.