All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2023 ( Munster And Leinster Championships,Liam McCarthy Cup)

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Why not?

Why

I see Limerick are putting cameras up in the press box for a view of the entire field

Careful now, you'll be accused of a softening up exercise...

I see Hegarty is saying now that everyone wrote them off...

🤷‍♂️

It's obvious that whatever the Limerick management tell them, they'll believe it and that's a great sign of togetherness.

Fair enough, that's your hope. But you do realise that Limerick don't have a great record at underage while Galway have had but poor success at senior. Kilkenny have contested 4 senior Finals in the last 5 years despite lack of success at underage. Limerick couldn't manage to win senior titles in the past despite having wonderful success at under 21.

Winning minor and/or under 20 doesn't guarantee any county success at senior.

I think Kilkenny can have limited credit for winning this year's Leinster title and those of the previous three years (Wexford actually won 2019). They were gifted a couple by Galway. They couldn't beat Galway or Wexford in the round robin in the last two years which says something about their true level.

They must be the first team in history from either Munster or Leinster to win four consecutive provincial titles (maybe this was even true at three) and not be able to convert even one of them to an All Ireland title (only reached two of the finals). Imagine the "bottlers" a Munster team would be called if they had that record. But Kilkenny are supposed to get credit for it?

One of the reasons is some of Cork's best GAA underage talent actually go on to make a living from sport - from Aussie Rules to soccer to rugby. Sweetnam, O'Leary, Setanta, Mark Keane, and so on.

Perhaps, the type of player they need most, Ben O'Connor is going to play rugby now.

The most genetically gifted specimen in Tipp in recent times, is also playing rugby. That's just the way the cookie crumbles.

It's something all counties face but hits others harder than most. But given Cork's population size they should be able to sustain such losses unlike other counties. So, maybe, it's not that big a deal to them.

Is it possible Kilkenny like limerick time their runs to peak in the latter stages of the year? Clare would not have beaten limerick last weekend...nor would Wexford or Galway have beaten Kilkenny ..

Do Limerick really time their run?

Like do they leave a bit in the tank in Munster, if so it is a bit of a risky thing. A puck of the ball would have seen them knocked out.

Id find it hard to believe anyone goes anything, but flat out for the Munster campaign.

What I wouldnt under estimate is the value of the 4 week break to the semi final. Team is massively battle hardened from the Munster campaign, but has the time to refresh and recuperate and drive on again.

I think they do..no team can peak multiple times through a season..or no team can stay consistently at a peak.. Limerick also have the advantage of being at the business end of the season for the previous number of years so they know what they need to do and when. I do agree completely that the 4 week break is a great help to the winning provincial finalists..gives them time to work on a few things/ freshen up/clear up niggly injuries

Ive noticed a lot of people trying to comfort themselves with talk of minor teams since Sunday.

Of course, if I'm making an argument about the pace and depth of Kilkenny's decline I will tend to look at their performances/record. What else would I look at other than facts that suit my argument? If the facts didn't suit it there wouldn't be an argument to make.

Yes, there is a certain context in the sport around Limerick at the moment but let's not get sidetracked with that. The false narrative raised again ahead of the All Ireland final that there was a only a puck of a ball between Limerick and Kilkenny has certainly been exploded by the League and All Ireland finals this year.

Hopefully we might get some broader oxygen for the reality of where Kilkenny actually stands now rather than pretending the country has a particular status on the game beyond anyone else right now. If Cork won 4 Munsters in a row or Galway won 4 Leinsters in a row and failed to win a single All Ireland they'd be devoured on forums like that. They'd be "soft", they'd be "bottlers" etc. It's time Kilkenny were properly held up to the light.