Last year’s Cork hurlers are back and back with a couple of wins in tow but the real work for the team is yet to begin.
Denis Walsh has taken up the reins eventually let go by Gerald McCarthy and everyone in the county is looking forward as the new man is tasked with the job of restoring pride and purpose to one of the game’s true giants. It’s time to forget what went on in the early months of the year, but also to deal with what add-on effects those events will have on the field for the rest of 2009 and beyond.
The return of the ‘2008’ panel has seen two reminders of their two best memories from last season, the sensational Championship comebacks against Galway and Clare, with the Banner again suffering from a late Rebels surge in the League and Limerick being pipped at the death in a tremendous contest on Sunday last.
But the elation from those games must also be forgotten. The league still has much tougher challenges in the shape of Kilkenny and Waterford to come and while the threat of relegation is now unlikely to put the squeeze on them, Walsh will want to hit the ground running.
While there is no doubting the ability of the majority of the Cork players back on show, part of their success since their comeback has to go down to adrenalin, their thrill at being back on the field in their county jersey and their determination not to be beaten after staying away until their voice was heard. But there has been definite rustiness from the men in red, particularly against Clare, while it is arguable from the game against Limerick that they are still not fully switched on at the back, even if their capability to score super points from pretty much anywhere remains.
Now as the cobwebs evaporate, with two tough League games, the challenge of a Championship where not many expect them to shine and an inexperienced manager at this level on board, we will see what they are really made of.
Everyone in the county seems happy with the appointment of Walsh and the former Waterford football boss is certainly a learned man in the position, even if he has now entered a school with bigger boys and harder lessons. He has made his intention clear. He wants to bring this team of multiple All-Ireland winners and promising young Rebels back to the top of the national charts.
That might seem a bit lofty at this stage given the rustiness of his men compared to the mercilessness currently being shown by the indisputable number one since 2006. And it’s Kilkenny first up for Walsh’s Rebels. The man himself says he could have waited until after that game to take up the role but he wanted to be in charge against the best. That’s encouraging, though the game itself may prove not to be so for Cork.
Sunday’s game will provide a different level of opponent than the two just beaten. Having won three All-Irelands at their ease, Brian Cody’s men look to want the NHL title swiped by Waterford and Tipperary in the last two years back. After a slow start in which Waterford got a little revenge for the great Drumcondra massacre of last September and a narrow win over Limerick, they hit emphatic mode to rampage to wins over strong sides Galway and Tipp.
Even a less impressive display against Clare last time out saw a more than comfortable 13-point win, and they will not be going easy on the new man’s team this Sunday. Still, Dublin have shown against Galway and Waterford that the odds can be ignored and if the Cats are snoozing then the Rebels can take advantage. But the two remaining League encounters are more likely to be building blocks for Walsh and his men than a huge indication of what is to come in the summer.
Fifteen against fifteen, Cork put it up to Kilkenny better than anyone last year – it’s depressing that a team losing by nine points counts as the closest challenge. With last year’s men back they still have a team full of winners. The likes of Donal Og Cusack, John Gardiner, Ronan Curran, Sean Óg O hAilpín, Tom Kenny and the O’Connor twins all fall under that mantle, while Shane O’Neill, Cathal Naughton, Pa Cronin and Pat Horgan have already shown that the future can be bright. Add to these, the likes of Conor O’Sullivan, Barry Johnson and Tadhg Og Murphy, who impressed when given their chance by McCarthy, and Walsh has plenty to work with, as any Cork manager should.
Walsh has hinted that one or two others may not be back and it will be sad if Joe Deane’s days are up, the Killeagh man who rolled back the years against Galway last summer surely still capable of one last hurrah, but if he is not around then that cannot be dwelled on as the remit in the county must be onward and upward.
Can Cork really be All-Ireland contenders? Probably not because it is hard to see anymore than one contender if we are to believe that Kilkenny are still playing at a low gear, and given that some of their biggest names have only made fleeting appearances or less so far then we should. It will be theirs to lose.
Tipp supporters and hurling fans nationwide alike see the Premier County as the main challengers and while there is plenty of firepower and maturing talent at Liam Sheedy’s disposal, they still look second best. Hurling fans a lot older than me will tell you that Galway have the next best thing to The Lord himself in their forward line, but you always have the worry that they will be 14 men short on any given day, while Waterford – a team who should be hungrier than anyone to win Liam McCarthy after the way last year ended – are getting older, not better, regardless of their tempestuous win over the Cats in February.
As for Cork, well their first provincial date is again with old enemy Tipp and if Walsh can conjure up victory on that day then hopes will rise. Either way if their hopes of regaining Munster do disappear, the Championship system should see them still alive in an All-Ireland quarter-final, at which point we will see exactly where they are.