Underdogs ravenous enough to snatch the pot

Mostly Hurling:Luck can sometimes exert a dramatic influence over our lives. A few seconds of bad luck can unravel years of striving, while a moment of good luck can lead to success.

Luck has the power to transform the improbable into the possible, to make the difference between happiness and despair, victory and defeat.

Limerick had a share of that luck against Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final. They didn't have it in the Munster final. If Limerick had taken their goal chances in the early stages of the provincial final they might have won that game too. But luck wasn't with them that day. Dan Shanahan had the good fortune on that occasion.

A month ago the luck had changed sides and Limerick took their chances and thundered into a 10-point lead midway through the first half.

I'm not for a moment saying luck was the only reason Limerick won but I am saying that it does play a part. How many times have we seen balls go over the bar from almost impossible angles when a team's luck is in and on the other hand how often have we seen players missing sitters?

When teams are evenly matched, having the proverbial rub of the green can play a vital role in deciding the outcome.

Kilkenny haven't needed that luck this season so far, even though Galway did test them for an hour.

Will luck play a part in deciding where the Liam McCarthy cup spends the next 12 months? Well, first let's analyse the teams and their seasons.

Depending how you look at things, Limerick started halfway up or halfway down the pecking order. They had a difficult draw in their first game but hadn't won a first round in years. But this wasn't a first round. It was a semi-final, which provided an extra incentive for themselves and Tipperary to make a huge effort to win. Nobody forecast it would take three games to separate the sides.

The pundits still didn't give them much of a chance in the Munster final. This, after all, was to be Waterford's year. But Limerick gave as good as they got for 60 minutes. Then Lady Luck arrived wearing blue.

In two months this Limerick team had improved greatly. Yes, we could see them beating Clare but that was going to be the end of the line. They wouldn't beat Waterford or Cork.

The problem was nobody told them that. The game has been analysed to death and the result hasn't changed. Limerick played with more passion, drive and energy and with a winning mentality. They scored more than Waterford, had the luck at vital stages and are now in the final in the great position of underdogs.

Kilkenny, on the other hand, have been favourites since last September and deservedly so. They showed indifferent form early in the league but reached the final, only to lose to Waterford.

The Leinster championship was substandard (not Kilkenny's fault) in comparison to Munster, and the Cats won pulling up. Neither Lady Luck nor the Fat Lady was to be seen, and neither was needed. Galway provided stern opposition for an hour and Wexford improved on their Leinster final form but Brian Cody's men won without reaching any great heights.

So now we have an unexpected pairing in the final.

In last year's league final, the Cats scored three goals against a Limerick team who found James McGarry in unbeatable form. But Limerick played quite well that day. The fact they have had the experience of playing against Kilkenny in a national final will stand to them.

Kilkenny will start this game as hot favourites. They are great champions. They are the yardstick for all others. But they haven't had enough serious questions asked of them yet this year.

Kilkenny have the better individual players. They have more experience. They have experienced losing as well as winning. They have a stronger panel. If they are allowed play to form there will only be one winner.

Limerick, though, are in the ideal position of being underdogs in this final. They don't have the vast experience of their opponents. They have, however, had a much tougher journey to the final. They have learned how to cope and hang in and, more importantly, they have learned how to win. They have also learned how to control their aggression.

Therein, in my opinion, lies their key to success on Sunday .

Yes, let them play with the passion we've seen from them all through the season. But let them be totally focused on the outcome.

Being too wound up early on can lead players to concede silly frees, to get carded early on in the game, to make poor judgement calls, to expend too much energy too early. The day of the "knock down the door" speech before the teams go out is surely gone, especially given there are at least 20 minutes between taking the field and throw-in on All-Ireland day

The media will have analysed the game to death by now. We'll have heard talk of marking Henry Shefflin and not allowing the speedy Kilkenny forwards time on the ball or not allowing them to score goals.

We'll have heard of how best to utilise Brian Begley, about not conceding frees or how important a good start is. We'll hear of how important it will be that Limerick bypass the almost impenetrable Kilkenny half-back line. How much influence will Martin Comerford have on the game? Will Mark Foley last the full game? Will Cha Fitzpatrick pick up the scraps around midfield, score himself or deliver accurate ball to the forwards? Will Donie Ryan's goal-scoring streak continue? Can Jackie Tyrrell keep his concentration for the full 70 minutes on Andrew O'Shaughnessy? Is Ollie Moran going to end the season in the form in which he began it? Will Limerick's full-back line, especially Séamus Hickey, be as effective as they've been all season?

Noel Hickey's importance to the Cats will earn some column inches. The different individual battles will be examined. The referee's idiosyncrasies will be discussed, as will the weather, the length of the grass, the various sliotars to be used, the history between the teams and, of course, the omens.

If Limerick are to win, however, they will have to play a controlled, aggressive game in which they concentrate on the game and not the occasion; where singlemindedness is a key word; where they stay calm and focused from the minute they cross those white lines; where they match Kilkenny's intensity from the beginning; and where, if needed, Lady Luck is in their corner

On Saturday night last at The Point we saw the champion Bernard Dunne defeated by an underdog who believed in himself so much that he ended the contest in round one. And for good measure he and his camp put their money where their belief was by taking the bookies for a large sum.

In sport the underdog can and does win when he wants it badly enough.

I think this underdog might just want it badly enough.