Most dramatic round robin hurling championship to-date

Since the transition to a round-robin Senior Hurling Championship in 2018 many of us traditionalists have been lamenting the departure from the cut and thrust of knockout Munster Championship hurling. This year has, however, seen the most dramatic transformation with results combining to turn the final two rounds of championship games into real dog fights that will see full houses in Ennis and Thurles on Sunday and in Limerick and Thurles a week later. All five Munster teams are in contention for the two Munster final places and the third All-Ireland qualifying place going into the final rounds.

The ball is very much in Waterford’s court heading for Ennis on Sunday where a win would be enough to see Waterford into a Munster Final leaving Clare having to beat Tipperary to stay in contention and Limerick needing to beat Waterford on Sunday week to make it into the Munster Final.

Both Cork and Tipperary will be hoping for a Clare win on Sunday ahead of their clash in Thurles where a defeat for Cork would certainly see them out of the championship while Tipperary could lose and possibly stay in contention with a win over Clare in Thurles on Sunday week. In the end it all comes down to the result of Sunday’s clash between Clare and Waterford.

After two nail biting finishes between Waterford and Tipperary in Walsh Park and Cork and Clare in the Pairc few could have imagined the drama of those games being surpassed on Saturday last with Cork snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against the All-Ireland champions. It is somewhat ironic that two questionable refereeing decisions could have denied Waterford a place in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

That Tipperary’s added time goal in Walsh Park was a clear ‘square ball’ was incontestable while the awarding of the penalty to Cork was less contentious but not as clear cut as was that awarded to Jack Prendergast against Cork. In Prendergast’s case there was no defender between him and the goal as he broke through but while Kingston was goal bound for Cork there were Limerick players between him and the goal when Hayes decided to bring him down.

It was, however, a cynical act by the defender and in the end the punishment was probably fitting. Cork were fortunate to have a freetaker of Horgan’s experience on board at such a late stage to finish the penalty to the net past a goalkeeper of Nicky Quaid’s quality.

The drama was not confined to Munster over the weekend for who could have foreseen the result in Netwatch Dr. Cullen Park where Carlow held All-Ireland hopefuls Kilkenny to a draw. This was a great result for Carlow hurling and will put some pressure on Derek Lyng as he takes his side to Parnell Park next weekend to face unbeaten Dubs ahead of a home game against Wexford a week later. A Kilkenny loss to Dublin on Saturday would leave the clash with Wexford a battle for survival for both teams should Wexford score a home win over Carlow, also on Saturday.

MUNSTER CAMOGIE GET IT WRONG WITH FINAL FIXTURE 

It was always a good idea to have the Munster Camogie Final played as a curtain-raiser to a big hurling game and they don’t come any bigger that a clash between Tipperary and Cork in Thurles. Clearly, in making the fixture the camogie people assumed that it would be a Cork v Tipperary final with both teams having huge support in a packed Semple Stadium. The Waterford girls upset the applecart with their dramatic win over the league champions in their semi-final clash in Golden but now appear to have to suffer the consequences having to play Cork in front of thousands of Rebel supporters while Waterford fans will be focussed on their hurlers vital game against Clare in Ennis (at the same time).

What a pity the game could not have been switched to a neutral venue on Saturday in fairness to Waterford.