My question about Limerick coming into the final was whether they could improve on the Munster final performance. I reckoned they would need to because of Waterford’s progression in the meantime. I got my answer pretty quickly and it came with brutal clarity.
Where did the improvement come? It was comprehensive, really – their best performance of the year, their best performance at Croke Park as a team and, arguably, one of the best performances on All-Ireland day that I have seen.
In the modern era of middle-third hurling this was exemplary and Limerick demonstrated that they have no peers in the execution of that game. They’re superbly coached and immensely powerful. In Croke Park this season, you can hear what’s going on, on the field. John Kiely was audible on the line, almost in the rucks himself and the shouts of, “bodies, bodies, bodies,” ringing around the stadium.
The players were composed on the ball from the word go, simply overwhelming in the tackle, hooking and blocking and when the game was out of sight they continued that relentless onslaught. You could hear the tackles and Waterford weren’t able to break them of get away and get any time on the ball.
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You could say they looked flatter on the wet surface than they had in the semi-final and that they found it hard to settle but they’re minor details. In fact it was a miracle that they were only three behind at half-time. From the word go, Kyle Hayes, Diarmaid Byrnes, O’Donoghue in midfield and Hegarty and Morrissey were monstrous in the middle third.
Cian Lynch was able to stay loose off Tadhg de Búrca and create a lot of trouble, which didn’t affect the scoreboard to the extent it might have, but the platform created was a source of really good ball into the inside line and Flanagan and Gillane prospered.
We’ve been accustomed this year to the Limerick half forwards doing the job one day and the full forwards the next, but on this occasion both lines hit the right notes together and the effect was fantastic.
The pressure they were able to exert on defenders, trying to get out in possession and around the middle, meant the ball that Waterford were trying to hit into a dangerous-looking Dessie Hutchinson and Austin Gleeson – both of whom had decent games and persevered with selfless runs – was always delivered under pressure so no space could be created.
For Waterford it's been an improvement after two years without winning a match
It was as intense a pressure as I’ve ever seen on ball carriers – part of a superlative performance of power and attitude and the way they drove each other.
Before the match started, I knew from John Kiely’s interview that they would deliver. He said they were relaxed and knew what they had to do, that they were ready for Waterford. It showed.
Tom Morrissey and Gearóid Hegarty were outstanding – 0-12 from play – and it was about more than scoring. They made it so hard for defenders to exit securely with ball. Of course they’ve been doing this since the first round.
Gallant Waterford performance
Ominously for everyone else this is a very young team, hugely motivated and an outstanding group. There’s more in them.
For Waterford it’s been an improvement after two years without winning a match. They came into the All-Ireland final with plenty of optimism and form but to be fair to them there is no team in Ireland that could have stood up to that. They plugged away and had a few attempts on goal, which Nickie Quaid saved easily and probably the one miss that haunted them was Jack Fagan’s very early in the match.
They needed something to jolt Limerick even at that stage to give themselves a chance. Tahdg de Búrca going off was a severe loss and I’d like to wish him well – he’s been one of the great players in this championship but even he would have been hard pressed single-handedly to turn the tide.
Ultimately, it’s disappointment but there is something to build upon. Stephen Bennett has had an exceptional year. Hutchinson has been very promising and Gleeson, who has taken much criticism in the past, really stood up and has improved during this season. This did a lot to banish the disappointing memories of his first All-Ireland.
By far the best team out there has won a second All-Ireland in three years and that’s unlikely to be the end of it.
Finally, I’d like to emphasise the amount of credit due to all the teams and their management this year for preparing for this championship. There have been so many demands on them and indeed their families to observe protocols and keep everyone safe and protected. Without all of their commitment and greatly increased workload we wouldn’t have had these few weeks, which gave us great entertainment and outstanding champions.
