Hard to quibble with Kilkenny's greatness

ON GAELIC GAMES:No matter what yardstick one applies, Brian Cody's men tick all the relevant boxes, writes Seán Moran

WE'VE ALL been playing a long game since Sunday. Kilkenny's destruction of Waterford made, in one sense, for uncomfortable viewing partly because the losers are a popular side, who have featured in some of the great championship afternoons of the decade, and also because there is always going to be dissatisfaction when the season's showcase event is over long before the half-time whistle.

So the consolation has come in the form of having been ringside for the setting of records and being observers as history's first draft is written - a state of mind most nobly expressed by the reaction of one Tralee man, who magnanimously described it as "a privilege" to be able to watch Tyrone under-21s beat Kerry by 20 points in the 1991 final.

There has been much discussion of Kilkenny's greatness and, interestingly, much of it has come from within the county in the form of generous tributes from previous teams, principally the one from the 1970s - regarded until now as the best of the county's teams in modern times.

It's very difficult to make definitive judgments about events taking place in the here-and-now but there is empirically more to the claims than spur-of-the-moment hype. Arguments can be advanced that the field at the moment isn't strong: Cork are beyond their formidable best; an emerging Tipperary clearly have work to do to get to the championship standard established last weekend; and Galway's inability to make more of an impact at senior level remains a sorrowful mystery.

Arguments can also be advanced that the system suited Kilkenny as much as it could: weak provincial championship and direct access to All-Ireland semi-finals. Against that it is now more difficult than ever to win repeat All-Irelands. The qualifier system recycles the few top teams in the championship and makes ultimate victory harder than in the days of previous comparable achievements.

Multiple All-Ireland sequences leave themselves open to the charge of being achieved in uncompetitive environments simply because that level of success makes it look as if there wasn't much opposition around. It's true that Cork's treble in 1976-78 was validated by the presence of a useful Wexford side that - by virtue of their big 1976 Leinster final win - halted Kilkenny's three-in-a-row bid (although it never won an All-Ireland) and Clare's outstanding side of the decade that could never quite prise Cork's fingers off the Munster trophy but it still took just two matches to get to the final.

In football, Mick O'Dwyer's Kerry team, with whom Kilkenny are now inviting comparison, were hardly tested in their eight All-Ireland final wins in the space of 12 years - a schedule Brian Cody's team are on course to emulate.

Cork's four-in-a-row from the 1940s, the next milestone on Kilkenny's road, was achieved in unusual circumstances. Three of the wins came in finals against Dublin and the other was against Antrim - still holding jointly the record for biggest losing margin since modern scoring values were adopted. Furthermore Kilkenny and Tipperary were absent from the 1941 All-Ireland championship because of that year's foot-and- mouth epidemic.

But no one really cares about those sorts of footnotes in record books. They do, however, contribute to Kilkenny's satisfaction with this year's success, as the county's previous three-in-a-row included the 1911 championship where Limerick dug in their heels and refused to play in Thurles triggering a committee-room All-Ireland victory.

Currently Kilkenny are great because they drive themselves and manage to adhere to the highest competitive standards regardless of what opponents they face. There was a tendency to dismiss this year's Leinster results on the grounds that at this stage Offaly and Wexford suffer from hurling's equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome but not alone did Waterford's subsequent, considerably tighter victories over the same opponents hold true as a form line but Kilkenny kicked on from the provincial championship.

The display against Cork was so formidable it didn't seem unreasonable to suggest they might have difficulty reaching that pitch in the final; if anything the performance improved albeit against unexpectedly poor opposition.

Had they held their nerve in their semi-final against Waterford, Tipperary could have been in the final and would probably have done better but does anyone think that tonight's GOAL challenge would have come within 10 points of going ahead in Thurles?

A year previously Limerick had resisted their annihilation in the final and kept the margin to respectable proportions but Kilkenny had moved on by this season and their performance levels had risen inexorably.

The evidence of a major and self-sustaining display was plain: two wides, Stakhanovite work rate and the maintenance of a blistering tempo throughout all bore witness.

Where does this come from? It's hardly flinging open the doors of perception to point to structures within the county plus the management of the senior panel that makes the best of what's coming through the development system.

That system has been one of the best in the GAA. It not alone identifies and coaches the most promising few hundred young hurlers but also provides a framework in which coaches and managers are brought into the county structures and it has also been extremely successful in providing a supply of mentors at all levels.

For all the money and detail that equips these development panels in each age group there is little doubt the primary motivation must come from the exploits of the seniors. The excitement and promotional platform provided to youngsters every time a double-decker rumbles through Kilkenny with the Liam MacCarthy on board is considerable and in itself feeds the flow of titles.

Unlike O'Dwyer's Kerry team, which ended up going down with all hands on deck, Kilkenny have maintained a throughput of talent to replenish the team. In Cody's 10 years in charge of the seniors the county has also raked in three minor All-Irelands and what will almost certainly be five under-21s after next weekend.

Waterford's Tony Mansfield, who led the county to what is still its last major All-Ireland success in the 1992 under-21 championship, was by half-time on Sunday resigned to the outcome but he characteristically managed to pinpoint the essence of the situation.

"They will become the most successful team," he said of Kilkenny, "and in time will be seen as the greatest." Perspective that's hard to argue with.