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All-Ireland Hurling Final Preview
The final hurling day of the year where every inter-county hurler wants to be. The chance to become the proud owner of an All-Ireland medal and join a select group. That’s the prize on offer this Sunday, a prize that every young boy grows up dreaming about as they puck the ball off the wall or out the back field. The other side of the coin is defeat and the pain and anguish that comes with losing. It’s a feeling I wish on no player after a long and hard season coming so close to the ultimate prize. It has been a great hurling season with more surprises then ever and some great hurling played in between. We are left with a unique All-Ireland pairing, Cork and Clare, two fast moving teams with fantastic hurling skills and high levels of fitness.
At the time of writing, the Cork team has just been announced and as expected Brian Murphy is in. He is a player you need to play as he can totally nullify the oppositions best forward. If you can do this it’s a major step to victory in any game and Brian has done it year in year out on the best forwards in the country. While I am delighted for Brian I’m disappointed that Tom was the man to lose out, he has given great service to Cork and I just hope he is introduced at some stage as knowing Tom he will deliver like he always does on the big day.
I expect the game to be a tight one with both defences, operating with an extra defender, on top. Scores will be hard to come by and at the end of the day it might be who is willing to fight for the dirty ball will squeeze out a hard earned victory. As there probably won’t be much in it there are a few variables we can look at to make a decision on who will be victorious come Sunday at five o clock.
1. Tradition and belief
A lot of people seem to think Cork are going to win this game as tradition is behind them and they see Cork scrapping through if it’s a tight game. There is one thing for certain, tradition won’t win anything but it’s the belief that the Cork players have because of Cork’s past which will help them. Most of these young fellas grew up watching the All Ireland wins in ’99,’04 and ’05 and the finals in ’03 and ’06. They are aware of the rich tradition of Cork hurling and want to be a part of that. To be linked with some of the great Cork hurlers of the past like Ring and JBM himself is what they always wanted and Sunday gives them that chance. Tradition is Belief.
Clare on the other hand have All Irelands from underage in their back pockets. They are used to beating Cork and any other team they face. That must give these youngsters fierce confidence every time they go out to play. Winning is a habit in any sport and when you’re on a roll you don’t contemplate losing, you go out and you expect to win. This is in stark contrast to the Cork young guns as they have been starved of success since putting on the red jersey. Only Brian Murphy has a medal to his name and when it comes to the crunch this could be a more telling factor than tradition.
Advantage: Clare.
2. Management
I can never remember an All-Ireland Final with so much talk about tactics and formations and what will happen here and what will Cork do to counteract this etc… I have always been interested in the tactics of a game and how the game evolved over the years into a more possession type game and a battle to make space for your forwards. Davy obviously has a system worked out for the type of players they have and the best thing about it is the players believe in it and in him. I think he tried to bring a similar tactic into the Waterford camp a few years ago and while they had some success I still don’t think the players or certainly the older players believed in what he wanted them to do. Waterford always played an off the cuff style of hurling which was great to watch and it just didn’t gel with what Davy was trying to do. It is a great system they have and they have the players to carry it out but I just wonder if it breaks down or Cork have a way to curtail it is there a plan B.
It seems like Clare are holding all the cards with the constant questions around are what will Cork do to stop the seven man defence or what if Tony Kelly goes to midfield or who is going to mark Podge Collins? There is no talk around about what Clare are going to do to stop the likes of Conor Lehane or Hoggy or are Clare going to be able to stop Shane O Neill or William Egan dominating for example. In my opinion this plays into Cork’s hands, they are two shrewd operators on the line in Jimmy and Ger and I expect them to have a few tricks up their sleeve for Sunday.
Advantage: To close to call
3. Weather
Some people might laugh at this one but I think it might (depending on what we get) be more important than what people think. We are due rain over the weekend which in my opinion will suit Cork. Why does it suit Cork? Simple reason is, I think it will affect Clare more. Clare’s game is based on a lot of hand passing and short stick passes. The problem with this is when it breaks down it can happen close to their own goal. It was happening more at the start of the year and they seem to have it near perfection now but what if you add in slippery wet conditions? There are simply a lot of things that can go wrong between each short pass up the pitch, the pass, the control and the handling to name a few. In bad conditions I can only assume that their style of play will break down more and that’s when Cork are dangerous. If a few of these break down Corks confidence will soar and Clare will start doubting. Has Davy then got a plan B as stated above? Will they revert to a longer ball style of play which they are not used to and might just play into Corks hands?
Advantage: Cork
4. The Players
Obviously at the end of the day the players win games and there are always one or two players who pop up on All-Ireland day and play above what they have been playing all year. Who will it be this year? I think Cork have more lads that can just produce all of a sudden. Luke O Farrell, Conor Lehane and Jamie Coughlan all have this ability. It might not be Hoggy this time with lack of space in front of him but could be one of those three. Clare on the other hand have Conlon and McGrath. Conlon hasn’t been going as well as previous years but is there one big game in him. I worry about McGrath Sunday, I think he is a great player and I wonder with all the talk about Collins and Kelly are we forgetting about the silent assassin in the corner. He gets goals, goals win games and he could be Clare’s surprise in the pack.
The back lines have been solid on both sides so far this year and in O’ Connor, Bulger and McInerney Clare look probably a bit more solid than Cork. William Egan has being going well for us in the half back line while our main man in defence Shane O Neill is coming out with everything in the last few games showing hurler of the year form. I just think that Cork have more guys that could surprise us on the day and have the game of their lives.
Advantage: Cork
Looking at it there isn’t going to be much between the two sides. I expect a narrow Cork victory to hopefully signal the start of a new era in Cork hurling. I look forward to the D2 hotel that night and hopefully welcoming back the team and the Liam McCarthy Cup.
Ronan Curran
