Tipperary’s summer rhythm thrown violently off kilter by Limerick

The championship lives. Cancel the undertakers, pull the obit. Whatever assumptions we had of 2013 being funnelled down into one or two games at most melted under a Reeling In The Years sun at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday. Limerick laid out an afternoon of pure defiance to beat Tipperary by 1-18 to 1-15, guaranteeing a fresh name on the Munster roll of honour for the first time since 2006.

There was something gloriously old-school about it too. They milled Tipp to a fine flour, never panicking when behind, never ceasing when in front. John Allen scrimped and saved his resources beautifully, releasing Shane Dowling and Niall Moran from the bench in the second half just when the match was starting to hum.

Dowling’s first point drew Limerick level, his second put them a point up. Moran’s sole shot at the posts stretched the lead to two. Tipp had no response.

"I'm very pleased," said John Allen. "I suppose I felt we were in a limbo, playing in [Division] 1B and not knowing how good you are, how good the team is. Because you haven't been playing at the higher grade so at the back of your head somewhere you're thinking, 'Well, will we be beaten out the gate?'

'Totally confident'
"But two weeks ago we played Kilkenny and beat them and no matter what Kilkenny team you're playing it's a measure at least that you're somewhere up there. I felt totally confident that we would win the game but you can't say that too loudly in case people think you're suffering from some type of a dementia!"

For Tipp, this was an ominously weak-kneed effort. It says nothing good about such an elite team that they have an easily recognisable way of losing but all their worst traits were on show here. When they were good, they were effortlessly good. When they were bad, they were just effortless.

Just as in the league final, four of their starting forwards were substituted before the end. For a time, it looked like it wouldn’t matter. John O’Dwyer came off the bench at half-time and scored 1-3 inside 14 minutes to put them four points clear. But from there to the end, Limerick outscored them 0-9 to 0-2.

And only for Brendan Cummins and Pádraic Maher affecting last-ditch saves in quick succession with 10 minutes to go, it would have been a trimming. The Tipp public is unlikely to spare the horses over the coming days.

"Look it's a serious game and a serious championship match," said Eamon O'Shea. "Supporters have a right to look at the team and demand something from the team and demand something from me so I don't mind the public response. It matters to a lot of people it matters to me too. It is up to me to respond as a manager should and that's what I'll be trying to do.

'Work hard'
"People will have their views on how we played it I can't alter that. All I can do is try to work hard with the players. We are in a bit of a transition as well. That's not taking anything away from Limerick. We'll have a say in this championship."

Tipp have been here before, of course, most obviously in their All Ireland-winning year of 2010. So they know they way back at least. But the long way round is not especially enticing and they will likely find themselves rubbing up against either Kilkenny or Galway before July is out. At the very least, the rhythm of their summer has been thrown violently off kilter now. How and whether they right themselves will be one of the defining storylines of the rest of the year.

Earlier, Kilkenny succeeded where Tipp had singularly failed, shaking a similar bout of early-season rust to see off a valiant Offaly challenge by 0-26 to 4-9. Having gone in a point behind at half-time, they eased clear in the second half with a vintage display of score-taking from all over the pitch. A couple of uncommonly careless mistakes handed Offaly two late goals but they plumped out the scoreline, nothing more.

All the same, Ollie Baker’s side will carry high spirits into the qualifier draw, to be carried out on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One at 8.30am.

In football, Louth and Wexford produced a storming encounter in Drogheda, the visitors eventually holding out by a single point, 2-13 to 1-15.