Kilkenny at their regal best

So, the land of hurling, once a pleasant oligarchy, has evolved into a monarchy where the royalty are enrobed in amber and black and deign to exert themselves only when they need to.

We are their subjects. It's Kilkenny's world.

Once more this season Kilkenny will stretch their regal limbs and unless form has deceived us the only other work they will do before Christmas will be to polish silverware and ponder how to extend their reign.

For 35 minutes in Croke Park yesterday Kilkenny were good. Merely that. As close to ordinary goodness as they can be, close enough to fool Tipperary into believing their two-point half-time lead might be negotiated into an All-Ireland final place.

Bold deceivers. Kilkenny came out for the second half, rubbed the sleep from their eyes and swept Tipp away. For 35 minutes Kilkenny were awesome. For once, that overused word was justified. Brian Cody, Kilkenny's manager, claims not to know what pressure is. His counterpart Michael Doyle can't make the same claim. Pressure is when you hear the machine rattle, when every rivet, bolt, clasp and staple begins to pop, when great gasps of steam issue forth, when finally the machine just doesn't work.

Pressure. Some stats define it. Kilkenny had 15 wides and won by 12 points. DJ Carey was quiet and Tommy Walsh was taken off and Kilkenny won by 12 points.

The Tipperary goalkeeper, Brendan Cummins, secured a man-of-the-match bauble and an All Star award yesterday and Kilkenny won by 12 points. Kilkenny were two points down at the interval and . . . well, you know.

If you wanted to define for an alien the difference between league and championship you would need just two videos: yesterday's game and that between these two sides in May's league final. In May Kilkenny gambolled their way through a ten-goal thriller, winning but entering into the spirit of the day.

Yesterday they were ruthless, "hungry as men who hadn't been fed for two weeks", as Brendan Cummins said. In the second half they tore Tipp apart as callously as boys pulling legs off spiders.

At half-time we said the game was anybody's. Ten minutes into the second half we feared for Tipp's sanity. Kilkenny's first two scores of the second half came from 65s. Little indicators of the pressure being ratcheted. Worse, they were scored by DJ Carey, whose every intervention seems to lift Kilkenny. Then Paddy Mullally was blocked by Eddie Enright and somehow DJ was in and away. The cheering had begun when Cummins made another in his series of award-winning saves. Croke Park was suddenly electric, however.

Nine minutes into the half and a long James McGarry free hopped into the path of Eddie Brennan. Goal. Suddenly Kilkenny were a point clear.

The Kilkenny half backs had been having a poor enough day. Now it changed. SeáDowling caught the poc-out, won and cleared the next ball driven in, then leapt and blocked an Eoin Kelly free. Three interventions in 90 seconds. You knew then there had been a turning.

Kilkenny were bubbling now. Tipp pointed through Conor Gleeson in the 12th minute and that was it for 20 minutes. Walsh had a goal seconds later when, incredibly, Kilkenny had six shots in a row come back off the woodwork, a defender or mostly Cummins before Walsh smuggled his shot through.

Minutes later Cummins saved again, from Shefflin. If there is to be criticism of Cody let it be for his failure to make his forwards stand in an orderly line as they waited to shoot at Cummins.

Five points followed, the game dying with each one. Tipp stole a point, which Shefflin punished with a third goal. Kilkenny pass on to another final. All bow.