Editorial: Hurlers get championship off to a great start

Were you a bit worried before last Sunday’s Munster Hurling Championship opener against Tipperary?

I certainly was but you would have to feel a lot better after it.

I missed the first half of the game unfortunately but I was delighted with what I did see in the second half and on ‘The Sunday Game’ on RTÉ later.

Cork slowly strangled Tipperary in the second half, pulling away from them by consistently knocking over good points and denying Tipp almost any chances at all. Tipp’s points in the second half came largely from frees with Cork denying them much possession in the middle third and forcing plenty of turnovers. This wasn’t a thrilling explosion of power, pace and goals in the manner that Cork so often win games. We know Cork are capable of that; we didn’t need to see it last Sunday. Instead, they just took over after half-time and really got their foot on Tipp’s throat. Tipp’s late goal to give them hope came out of nothing but it means Ben O’Connor has fuel to keep players’ focused on the Limerick rematch next Sunday at home.

The Munster champions won out with a four point lead over Tipp, but lead by 7 or 8 for large parts of the second half. The Rebels hitting eight unanswered points in the middle of the second half to take control and they never relinquished that lead.

In the second half, it took Tipp until the 65th minute to score a point from play, which is a credit to Cork’s intensity and defensive resolve. The other huge positive was the performances of Cork's two championship debutants in attack. Man of the match William Buckley hit 0-6 and Barry Walsh scored 0-4 and proved a huge handful for the experienced home defence. Barry Walsh had a few shaky moments early on but recovered to produce a fantastic performance in the half forward line.

Cork's unbeaten run against Tipperary in Thurles is now at 10 years - amazing! Of course, there’s such a long way to go yet but a loss would have put Ben O’Connor in Cork in such a pressurised situation. Instead it’s the All-Ireland champions who could easily face an early exit. Tipperary now face what almost amounts to a knockout match in Walsh Park to take on a Waterford side who played very well in defeat away to a very strong Clare side. Cork now face Limerick on Sunday at home in what could be another Munster Championship epic!

The mens’ and ladies’ footballers both face Tippearary this weekend in Munster games they should win but their seasons are on more of a slowburn. Read Finbarr McCarthy’s excellent previews on page 36.

Best of luck to all Cork teams in action!