Beating the three-in-row champions - Nenagh Guardian

[Bord na Mona man]

Optimistic article from the Nenagh Guardian 

Beating the three-in-row champions.

Next summer Kilkenny will be aiming to surpass the exploits of the great Tipperary side of 1949-'52 who chalked up a 15-game undefeated run. This week, Brinsley Weldon considers how to dethrone the reigning All-Ireland champions.
At the Gaelic Grounds on July 13th, 1952 Cork brought an end to the longest undefeated run in hurling championship history when they beat Tipperary by two points. That run of 15 games began with a replay victory over Cork in 1949 and featured three All-Ireland final wins. And while the 1964-'65 Tipperary team is regarded as the Premier County's finest ever accumulation of hurling talent it looked as if the 15-game undefeated run of the 1949-'52 side could never be matched.
Next summer, however, Brian Cody's Kilkenny look certain to surpass those efforts. Since 2005, when Kilkenny lost by a point to Galway in an All-Ireland semi-final, the Cats have remained unbeaten - 14 games. Kilkenny have a bye into next summer's Leinster semi-final; when they win that game and the ensuing Leinster final they will surpass a record that has stood for 56 years.
No one should, or will, hold that against Brian Cody or any of his players. There was however an over-zealous (press) reaction to Kilkenny's win over Waterford in the All-Ireland final. One journalist, who never held a hurl in his life, even suggested that Brian Cody's side would beat the pick of the country.
The first problem with such an assertion is that there was an absence of bloodstains on the pitch after that All-Ireland final. There was no evidence of a struggle. Kilkenny recorded the biggest winning margin since Cork beat Antrim 5-16 to 0-4 in 1943 because Waterford never stood their ground - how Tipperary permitted such a tame outfit to overcome them in last August's semi-final beggars belief.
Irrespective of the merits of beating a pathetic Waterford effort in the All-Ireland final it's impossible to adequately compare Kilkenny to the other great sides that have adorned hurling history with any degree of accuracy. The boxing fraternity did attempt to settle a similar argument in 1970 when radio producer Murray Woroner concocted the 'The Super Fight'. At the time, Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano were the only undefeated heavyweight champions in history and fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes. Ali and Marciano were filmed acting out every possible scenario in a fight and the result was then determined using probability formulas entered into a computer - Ali was knocked out in the 13th round.
It seems unlikely that a computer could ever settle the arguments about the greatest hurling team ever. All we can do is appreciate the excellence of a side like Brian Cody's Kilkenny while at the same time do our best to meet the standards they have set. Liam Sheedy's emerging Tipperary side look most capable of occupying the position Cork were in a few years ago (2003-06) when they regularly challenged and beat Kilkenny. Beating the three-in-a-row champions might appear a tall order, but it may not prove so.
The most disappointing aspect to this Kilkenny side is their lack of ambition in terms of how they approach the game. Kilkenny, with their hit it long and hard style, play to a game plan prevalent in the junior B grade. Since they have so many terrific players that simplistic game plan makes them appear unbeatable. But is it not the case that Kilkenny pose a problem that hurling people have forgotten how to solve? Hurlers, playing good hurling, can beat these guys.
From a defensive point of view facing Kilkenny should be easier than it appeared last summer. Every single ball fired into your half of the field is going to be high ball. Armed with that knowledge a half-back line should not follow their half-forwards far out the field. Both Cork and Waterford made that mistake this year and duly paid for it - acres of space was left inside for the Kilkenny full-forward line to race into and do untold damage.

When playing against Kilkenny, as Cork did most effectively under Dónal O'Grady and John Allen, your best bet is to erect a defensive perimeter along your 45-metre line. Do not allow your defenders to get pulled out into the middle of the field. Such an error actually plays into the hands of Kilkenny's defensive plan. Another grievous error to avoid is hitting high balls into the Kilkenny half of the field, especially from puck-outs. Kilkenny are set-up to defend this scenario and channel all their efforts into ensuring that the ball arriving on top of their backs is of the snow-covered variety. Carrying the ball into the Kilkenny half of the field is also a bad idea. On the training field they concentrate, thanks to their tussles with Cork, a lot of their time on gobbling up lay-off ball and to be fair to them they have almost perfected defending against sides who attempt to create two-on-one situations.
Therefore the key to attacking Kilkenny is low diagonal ball - the sumptuous style of hurling adopted by Liam Sheedy's Tipperary this term. The hilarious irony here is that Kilkenny have completely forsaken the legacy of Monsignor Tommy Maher and have now left themselves susceptible to the brand of hurling Maher dedicated himself to. In 1957 Maher was appointed Kilkenny coach. The Cats had lost the previous four Leinster titles to a powerful Wexford side who leathered the ball from one end of the field to the other. Over the next 21 years however Maher revolutionised Kilkenny's style of play by introducing the low diagonal ball to their repertoire - 14 Leinster titles and seven All-Ireland titles ensued. You could also argue that Monsignor Maher would not agree with the behaviour of the Kilkenny players under the dropping ball. Pushing players and tugging the jersey before the ball arrives is one thing, but playing the hurl in the air is fouling. A public awareness of such tactics needs to be created regarding this travesty, but it appears that no one has the stomach to do so on a national level.
In fairness to Brian Cody's side they play to the limit of the law, a law established by the referee and until referees start penalising Kilkenny for fouling under every single dropping ball then the rest of the country may as well do it.
We will leave you with the words of the former soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi who took the reins at AC Milan in 1987 and within two years won the European Cup with an emphatic final win over Steaua Bucharest: "I woke up with a feeling I had never experienced before. It was one which I have never experienced since. I had this unusual, sweet taste in my mouth. I realised it was the apotheosis of my life's work." Sacchi had his AC Milan playing the way he wanted them to play and they won all around them.
In 2009, hopefully, Liam Sheedy will also experience that 'sweet taste' in his mouth when the Portroe man gets Tipperary playing the brand of hurling that will win this county an overdue All-Ireland.

www.nenaghguardian.ie/sport/hurling/beating-the-threeinrow-champions-1593644.html

[orangeman]

Who wrote this article ? Ger Loughnane ?

[Sean3]

So Kilkenny play to a Junior B game plan and have a lack of ambition while Tipperary play a "sumptuous style"...

[orangeman]

So Kilkenny play to a Junior B game plan and have a lack of ambition while Tipperary play a "sumptuous style"...

More ammo for KK ( if any was needed ).

[INDIANA]

More of the arrogant shite that comes out of Tipp. One munster championship and its the home of hurling again. They won't beat kilkenny I'd put my mortgage on it.

[AZOffaly]

You still have to like the way they think. I'm not sure who wrote the article, but the feeling in Tipp, or at least the Tipp that I live in, is that Kilkenny are awesome, but Tipp are getting there. Tipp always feel they have a chance against Kilkenny (which is why I felt they were better off not meeting them last year. A 20 point trimming might have killed this young team) and I say fair play to them for it. It's better than the attitude Offaly have, which is give it a lash, and hope Kilkenny have an off day. Our attitude wasn't always like that against Kilkenny. In the 80s and 90s we really felt that we could beat them, and quite often did.

I see no harm in being confident against Kilkenny, as long as you respect them utterly, and prepare for the toughest test you will face.

[playwiththewind1st]

If you turn up to Casement Park on Sunday, you will see how it's done, as the mighty Antrim humble the Cats yet again.   

[orangeman]

The sun is laways shining in Tipp as well - it's not so long ago that Tipp were being humbled by all and sundry under Bab's reign.

[EddieMerx]

  This is typical Tipp "We are the home of hurling" "We are the greatest ever"

1 All Ireland in 20 years, Tipp have no right to consider themselves anywhere near the top of the hurling tree

[milltown row]

I've been saying this for years, Kilkenny have always played the high ball in, this suits the players they have. bar maybe one or two players they have a great height advantage over most teams, they back this up with their natural skills and the fitness levels and their desire to win everything.

he's also right about fouling, pulling the stick early is a foul, but that wont make a difference to them winning. wexford tried and succeeded once with the quick low diagonal ball into the forwards. Cant see anyone sticking with them this year.

how do you beat them? match their fitness, desire/hunger and put in a gameplan similar to theirs. high ball in, sticky defenders who wont foul. Galway can always beat them if Kilkenny have an off day. Cork are rebuilding, wexford well Antrim could beat them. Clare,

I'll be at Casement this Sunday to watch the the greatest team to have graced Belfast in the modern era.

[Franko]

Jesus thats some loada shite

[milltown row]

The current Walsh cup champions, milltown?

no silly, the Antrim committee

[Ash Smoker]

I think that sort of arrogance is both a help and hindrance to Tipp.
Tipp would never fear any county, no matter how badly off they are.
The biggest problem managers like Ger Loughnane, Liam Griffin and Cyril Farrell had was to try and instill self believe in the teams they managed. They had the hurlers but not the tradition. Too often they threw away games by not believing in themselves.
Tipp would rarely crumble against Cork or Kilkenny the way other counties would.

The downside to this is that even when Tipp have fallen years behind Kilkenny in their standards, they are still in denial about it.
There were some Tipp fans who felt they could have taken Kilkenny in last year's All Ireland. 

[Onlooker]

Practically every Tipperary person that I have spoken to reckons that Tipp were lucky that they not get to last year's All Ireland Final as they would have got a fierce hiding from Kilkenny.  Living in the other end of the county, I do not get the Nenagh Guardian, but that article would make any rational Tipp follower cringe.  Tipp are still miles behind Kilkenny and we know that better than anyone else.