Munster hurling remains box office

The spirit of the hurling championship was nicely encapsulated by Kilkenny great Richie Hogan, who was on analysis duty for GAA+ at Semple Stadium on Sunday for Tipperary’s meeting with Limerick.

Offering comment on the start of the game, when players were wrestling each other to the ground before the ball was even thrown in, Hogan said: ‘There’s nothing much in that’!

It raised a smile and was an accurate piece of analysis - there was no complaining from either team, they just wanted to tear into things.

And it captured the free-flowing nature of the fare we watched from Munster on Sunday, with both games absolute crackers.

The drama delivered - again - by Clare and Cork on Sunday was followed by a hugely engaging contest in Thurles, where there are signs of life for Tipperary again.

Crucially, they’ve rediscovered their edge, as we watched in the skirmishes at the outset.

The real story of the weekend, however, is the Clare comeback against Cork.

The Banner County is one that has been passionate about hurling since the days of Michael Cusack, yet that thirst for the game hasn’t translated into success. They’ve won four All-Irelands and, remarkably, only six Munster titles. Indeed, they’ve won two All-Irelands since their last provincial triumph back in 1998.

Yet, for neutrals, they’re an endearing outfit. Brian Lohan was a teak-tough warrior as a player in the 90s and noughties, and now he’s producing the goods as manager. All of those qualities he possessed as a fullback - ferocity, commitment, sheer willpower - were in full display in the second half in Ennis, where the hosts came back from a dire first half to earn a point against Cork.

Clare’s panel isn’t quite as deep as other counties, but they’ve got a generational talent in Tony Kelly and his talents are supplemented nicely by Aidan McCarthy, David Fitzgerald and John Conlon. The aerial ability of Peter Duggan was in full view for his magnificent goal in the second half - might Lohan be tempted to utilise Duggan there more frequently as the summer develops, especially with Shane O’Donnell absent?

Retaining the All-Ireland would represent one of the greatest achievements ever seen in the game for this Clare team, but a Munster title would almost equal that. After Sunday’s display, they’ll be looking up rather than down but there’s still much work to do.

For the Rebels, it’s a highly worrying result. They’re still likely to be OK in Munster, but don’t forget they lost to Waterford in surprising fashion just 12 months ago. All possible outcomes are on the table in terms of where they, or anyone for that matter, sit at the conclusion of the round robin series.

Cork's second half the last day follows a below-par display after half-time against Tipperary in the recent league final. It’s fair to say that few, if any, teams can live with Cork when they are at their brilliant best, but such inconsistency within games won’t deliver a coveted Liam McCarthy Cup later this year.

Pat Ryan has some thinking to do - though it may not be a bad thing insofar as a draw helps dampen some of the hype around Cork and their title as All-Ireland favourites.

If we thought Ennis couldn’t be topped, it was at least matched by matters in Thurles in the second Sunday offering.

It summed up the nature of the Munster Championship, with a ferocious level of intensity evident from the off and both sides trading blows for 70-minutes plus.

Tipperary will take huge heart from the display.

When I think of hurling, my mind always goes to Tipperary. There’s just something special about the county, and the drive in to Thurles always gets the juices flowing when you move past Barrett’s Pub on your way to Semple Stadium and get a look at the mural of various Tipp greats from over the years.

That sense of pride was sorely dented over recent years with a couple of poor Munster campaigns. In the last two seasons, Tipp had only one win from eight matches in the province.

There was no question that, this time around, they were going to fight.

In evidence early on was their determination to produce a performance, while their hurling ability was encapsulated by a superb goal for John McGrath in the second half where slick hand passing, combined with some hard running, helped carve open the Limerick defence.

The visitors will be pleased with their lot, even if they led in added time and failed to win. John Kiely’s side has matured into one of real experience and they know how to navigate tricky situations. Even with Tipp’s resurgence and hunger for a statement win, Limerick remained composed and calm.

With Cian Lynch excellent around the middle and Aaron Gillane again sharp up front, it’s obvious there’s a real desire to return to the top table this year. It’s easy to forget that Limerick are this year aiming to win a seventh Munster title in a row, which is an unbelievable run of results in an ultra-competitive environment.

Waterford enter the fray next weekend against Clare at Walsh Park and they will quietly nurture hopes of turning over Brian Lohan’s side, even though their league displays left quite a lot to be desired.

With literally nothing to choose between the sides over the opening two matches, it’s hard to imagine the margins will become much bigger as we move on into further rounds.

Sometimes, it’s in our nature to hark back to previous eras and think things were better in the past.

But, right now, we are living through a golden era for hurling in Munster.

That’s something to savour - how lucky we are we have so much more to look forward to in the coming weeks.