It’s not just up in the stands and on the terraces where the numbers are likely to be high at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday night, because on the field Cork and Tipperary are already leading the way as the top scoring teams in Division 1A of the National Hurling League.
Liam Cahill’s Tipp have registered 6-45 (63 points) from two games, victories over Galway and Offaly, while Ben O’Connor’s Cork have tallied 5-45 (60 points) from their wins against Waterford and Galway.
For comparison, Waterford’s tally after two games is 2-38 (44 points), Galway have put up 2-37 (43 points), and Offaly have scored 1-35 (38 points). Kilkenny and Limerick (both 0-20) have each only played one match so far, but are below Cork and Tipp’s scoring average.
Tipperary have 15 different scorers so far to Cork’s 14. With both sides averaging around 30 points per game, referee Liam Gordon and his umpires could be in for a busy Saturday night on Leeside.
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A huge crowd of over 25,000 is expected at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for what is a repeat of last year’s league and All-Ireland finals.
In all of their last three meetings, the winning team has exceeded the 30-point threshold, with the average combined score in those matches clocking 58.6 points. So, recent history indicates we could be in for another game amassing somewhere in the region of 60 points this weekend.
Interestingly, both camps have been getting decent scoring returns from their benches too so far in the league – Cork subs have hit 2-2 compared to 2-4 from their Tipp counterparts.
“It was a good performance all round from our lads,” said Cahill after his side’s win over Offaly last weekend.
“It is very competitive in the panel and when fellas get the opportunity to get in, they are anxious to take it. The effort was superb again from everybody, from the starting 15 to the five that came in.”
Cork arguably have had trickier opening games, Waterford at home and Galway away. Tipp played Galway at Semple Stadium before travelling to face Offaly at O’Connor Park.
According to figures compiled by the ever-informative Matthew Hurley (Gaelic Statsman), Cork’s shot-to-score ratio improved slightly from their opening win over Waterford (3-25 to 1-17) to last weekend’s victory over Galway (2-20 to 1-21).
Cork took 41 shots against Waterford, posting 28 scores, 11 wides, one effort saved and another dropping short, representing a 68 per cent conversion rate.
They managed to get 31 shots off against Galway, registering 22 scores, six wides, one off the post, one saved and one dropping short. On that occasion, Cork had a 70 per cent conversion rate.
In their win over Galway (1-21 to 1-16), Tipperary had a 68 per cent success rate from their 32 shots, with 22 scores, seven wides and three dropping short.
But stats from Jack McKay, who covered Tipp’s dominant 5-24 to 1-19 win over Offaly last weekend, showed the Premier county had a 76 per cent conversion rate in Tullamore, where they registered just four wides.
Shane Barrett (0-9) and Alan Connolly (1-6) are Cork’s top scorers so far in this year’s league. William Buckley and Declan Dalton have both hit 1-4, followed by Darragh Fitzgibbon with 0-6.
One of the more significant side stories embedded within Cork’s scoring statistics is the intrigue as to who will succeed Patrick Horgan as the team’s chief free-taker. Connolly, Dalton and Fitzgibbon have all scored from placed balls during the league so far.
Jason Forde, not for the first time, is proving to be Tipp’s leading scoring machine. He didn’t feature against Galway but scored a staggering 3-10 against Offaly. Of that return, 2-3 was from play.
Despite playing just one game so far, Forde is already second behind Waterford’s Reuben Halloran (0-24) on the list of top scorers in this year’s league.
Jake Morris has scored 0-8 (all against Galway), Darragh McCarthy has registered 0-7, Darragh Stakelum is currently on 1-2, while Tipp’s other two goals were netted by Paddy McCormack and John McGrath.
The winners of Saturday’s top-of-the-table fixture will be in a very strong position to make a return to the Division 1A decider. Cork beat Tipp in last year’s final to win the league for the first time in 27 years.
While both sides have been demonstrating their high scoring potential, it’s worth noting that Cork and Tipp also have the best defensive record of the five teams in the top division who have two games currently under their belts.
Tipp have conceded 2-35 (41 points) while Cork have shipped 2-38 (44 points).
But the Rebels have to go all the way back to their Munster round-robin meeting with Tipperary last April to find a league or championship match in which they kept a clean sheet in goal terms.
In all seven games since (five championship, two league), they’ve conceded at least one green flag, whereas Tipp denied Kilkenny a goal in last July’s All-Ireland semi-final.
