It’s hard to believe we’re in September again already. Another championship is coming to a close.
This hurling year has had its share of twists, but in terms of long-ranging implications for the inter-county scene, there have been several significant ones.
The introduction of Hawk-Eye and the new league format have been discussed in these pages previously, but there are at least three other significant developments that may shape next season’s hurling.
The first is the elevation of Dublin as genuine contenders to the old order. Anthony Daly, to his credit, has made enormous progress in his thus far short tenure.
Admittedly, they still have some way to go in terms of championship game-time at the highest level. But the sight of a sky-blue jersey with caman in hand can no longer elicit the kind of mirth that it did in days of old. More and more, they are beginning to resemble a proper hurling team, with legitimate aspirations in all competitions.
The other two implications are currently unknown quantities, in that they will only truly be resolved on Sunday.
Firstly, is Tipperary to be henceforth regarded as hurling’s premier superpower? The landing of two All-Irelands in a row would be a fairly comprehensive statement by Corbett and co. Certainly, it would make a very solid case in support of Tipperary’s supposed ascendancy over the Cats.
But whatever about this year, if this Tipp team is as good as we are constantly being told, it will ultimately be judged on the ability to match or better Kilkenny’s four-in-a-row. That will take some doing.
The final question that must be asked is whether or not this Kilkenny team is still capable of the extraordinarily high standard of hurling we have witnessed over the last decade, or whether the peak has now been reached.
Is this team now a spent force that will spend the next few years in the hurling wilderness, devoid of Liam McCarthy, necessitating the goodbyes of some highly-decorated legends, and the ushering-in of an era of new faces?
This probably seems a bit dramatic, but there may be a real transitional period in the offing. We will see soon enough.
*See within this week’s Kilkenny Advertiser for our in-depth All-Ireland supplement featuring match facts, interviews with the players, and previews of the game.
