John Allen: It’s hard to make a case for a Limerick win

For many intercounty hurlers there’s a sense of yearly déjà vu. A groundhog day of sorts.

On the last Sunday of July 2012 the Limerick senior hurling team and mentors sat quietly in the Ballykisteen Hotel. The atmosphere was fairly sombre. The realisation was starting to filter through that the intercounty hurling year was over for this group of players. It reminded me of the empty feeling that went with the last day of the three-week Irish college holiday in Coláiste na Mumhan, Ballingeary, when it was time to head back home again after a month of freedom, hurling, céilithe, girls and craic. There was an emptiness felt that is hard to articulate.

For the previous eight months most of this group’s time had revolved around preparing to be ready for the big hurling days of July, August and even (dare to dream) September. Now it was over. The bubble was burst. Limerick would play no more part in Championship 2012.

Kilkenny had seen them out, but deep down I sensed that there was a little chink of light flickering after a performance that was fairly decent for long periods.

And so as collective training began again in early December, there was a sense there that the gap between Kilkenny and the rest was narrowing and that Limerick weren’t too far behind.

The pre-season games and the early rounds of the league left a lot to be desired though. However, there was a welcome and much needed on-field demonstration that they were actually going the right direction. This came on a cold St Patrick’s weekend Saturday night when they outhurled Dublin in the second half in the top of the Division 1B table clash at headquarters. This was badly needed to keep the mood positive. But a fortnight later the Dubs turned the table on them in the final and the naysayers, of which there are a few in Limerick, had a new supply of grist for their particular mill.

In this year of 2016, or indeed, for most years since and before, a similar enough narrative could be written. Last year didn’t finish especially encouragingly for Limerick but the under-21 All-Ireland victory reignited the smouldering candle of hope.

Since the historic year of 1973 the county has had many false dawns. This year they didn’t show much in the league that would inspire confidence. But the same could be written annually for the majority of teams participating in hurling at this level, with the notable exception of Kilkenny. Déjà vu indeed.

On Sunday, Limerick enter the Munster championship again against Tipperary as underdogs. But then, how often has that been the case before and they have sometimes defied the odds and emerged victorious. This year the odds are very much stacked in Tipperary’s favour with a championship game played and a pool of players potentially as good as the best in the country.

It was interesting to hear JJ Delaney and Ollie Canning tipping them for September glory on Sky last Saturday night . Gamesmanship, or genuine predictions?

There are doubts and questions about Tipperary’s ability to deliver when the need is greatest. The need wasn’t great against Cork. They played adequately and won handsomely. Bonner Maher’s introduction as a second-half substitute, arguably, got the biggest cheer of the day.

Reports have it that Lar Corbett’s bar in Thurles had a busy afternoon with several hundred fans leaving at half-time due to the bad weather and the foregone conclusion of the result.

So really there are serious questions about how much advantage that game was to Tipperary. It might actually have fostered a false sense of security. That said, I suppose confidence is always welcome no matter how it’s acquired.

Limerick won’t want for effort. Their younger players have the confidence that comes with two minor provincial titles and an All-Ireland under-21 win. But that mightn’t be enough. Clare have yet to reap any consistency from their all conquering under-21 teams of the recent past.

For Limerick to have any hope of winning they have to limit Pádraic Maher’s domination from wing back and contain Séamus Callanan. A tall order. Maher had a major influence in the Cork game and has been one of hurling’s top defenders for a long a while now . But can Limerick keep the ball out of his area or deploy somebody to sacrifice their own game and negate Pádraig’s effect.

Richie McCarthy has marked Callanan a number of times in championship with varying degrees of success. Callanan, in 2015, was on the hurler of the year shortlist. His form against Cork has him heading that direction again. If not contained, at least, his performance will have a major bearing on the result.

Tipperary have an array of forward talent, as well as Callanan, all with the potential to do serious damage if supplied with enough ball. It’s hard to make a strong case for a Limerick win. All the variables will have to fall their way.

Tomorrow morning Nowlan Park hosts the finals of the Celtic Challenge, a developmental hurling competition for 16- and 17-year-old players not involved in state exams. The competition began in early May and since then up 1,000 players were provided with a seven-week programme of meaningful, pre-scheduled games – with 115 games in total. Now there’s mass participation for you. Players want to play games and this is a step in the right direction. It’s great to see Kerry, Wicklow and Westmeath among the finalists.