INTERPROVINCIAL FOOTBALL SEMI-FINALS: Munster 1-16 Leinster 1-13:ONCE WE got the sly jibes out of the way about there being more people on the field than in the stand this actually developed into the textbook game of football – free-flowing, high-scoring, with a fairly nail-biting finish.
All it lacked was some hard-tackling and good old full-frontal assaults – not always a bad thing – although it’s obvious the interprovincial competition will never draw back the once historical crowds. In the end maybe a few hundred showed up to see Munster win, not necessarily because they were better than Leinster, but probably better prepared, and definitely more enthusiastic.
It means Munster will play Ulster in next Sunday’s final while the old debate continues: what future, if any, does this competition have?
There is still something unique about seeing classy footballers like Cork’s Paddy Kelly and Graham Canty sharing skills with Clare’s David Tubridy and Gary Brennan – as just one example – while an old stalwart like Tomás Ó Sé helps lead the charge.
And how often will a player like Gary Hurney get to claim the headlines? The Waterford forward set the tone early on by storming through the Leinster defence to score Munster’s only goal after six minutes – after which they never looked back. Leading 1-10 to 1-4 at the break, they did allow Leinster raise a late rally, with just two points between them with five minutes to play, before Tubridy stepped up again to ensure the three-point victory.
It left Leinster manager Seán Boylan with a little explaining to do, such as the slow start, although the result didn’t seem to bother him too much: “They had a great start,” said Boylan, “and everything they touched seemed to turn to gold. And on the day they were probably better prepared than we were.
“But we made a conscious decision not to take them in during the week because they were caught up with Sigerson Cup, their clubs and with their county. Do I regret it? No. I’d love to have got a draw out of it or even get an extra half out of it but that wasn’t to be, and full credit to Munster.”
Boylan had played his part in drumming up interest this week by threatening to withdraw his team if the GAA went ahead and re-fixed Dublin’s football league game with Mayo for the same weekend – yet still felt more can be done to market the competition.
“What I’ll say is I think anybody who was here would have enjoyed it. Would I have liked to have seen more people? I would, yeah. There’s been quite a lot of negative talk about it, particularly from people from within our own association, people who would have had a lot of prominence in the association over the years, but I think sometimes we forget about the lads who play the game.”
It took Leinster a full 15 minutes before Dublin’s Bernard Brogan opened their scoring with a free, although in fairness he finished with 0-6. Louth’s Paddy Keenan was typically active and added 0-5 from play, while Cahir Healy from Laois tapped in their goal just before half-time, after Kildare’s Mikey Conway had his shot saved.
None of this disguised the fact that Munster were far more focused on the task at hand, something their manager Ger O’Sullivan put down to at least some modest preparation.
“We played a game in Mallow on Wednesday night, against a Cork selection, and we had a great workout. It’s not easy to get guys to come out and play together, even though they are all fantastic players. One or two sessions work wonders. And in fairness we came up last night – the Munster Council took it serious. So I think we had the momentum with us from earlier in the week.”
Still, O’Sullivan agreed the competition won’t survive without some further imagination. “In any business, and the GAA is a business, you must market. I saw the amount of marketing that went into the International Rules a few years ago and it brought huge crowds out. I said it before – you must get the like-minded people, people who are interested in this competition, and sit down. We have to give it three years, give it marketing and pick the right time of the year for it. Give it a fair go rather than just signing a death knell.”
MUNSTER:A Quirke; A O'Mahony, J McCarthy, S Lavin (0-1); T Ó Sé (0-1), G Canty, P Kissane (0-1); G Brennan, S Scanlon; P Kelly(0-1), P Kerrigan, J Cooke (0-1); D Tubridy (0-6, three frees), G Hurney (1-2, one free), I Ryan (0-2). Subs: M Collins (0-1) for Kerrigan (45 mins), S Briggs for Cooke (57 mins).
LEINSTER: S Cluxton (0-1, free); C Healy (1-0); G Molloy, S McAnarney; E Bolton, K Reilly, B Quigley; M D Macauley, P Keenan (0-5); D Connolly (0-1), A Brogan, L Glynn; B Brogan (0-6, four frees, one sideline); M Conway, K McManamon. Subs: K Nolan for Bolton (13 mins), K Lillis for Conway (half-time), B Murphy for Macauley (49 mins), J Doyle for McManamon (52 mins), S McCormack for Glynn (55 mins).
Referee: M Higgins (Fermanagh).
