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THE BRENNAN BEAT - This great team of ours has won over the masses
KILKENNY supporters are well-used to heading to Dublin on All-Ireland final Sunday, but there will be a special spring in their step Sunday.
This time there is a chance of achieving immortality for what is, without doubt, the finest bunch of hurlers ever assembled by any county.
The final may well be a repeat of last year's decider, but there is no denying the added excitement this year with a possible fifth title in-a-row on offer for the reigning champions. I don't think there is any Kilkenny supporter alive who would have ever expected the county to be heading for a fifth consecutive title.
It is truly an amazing feat!
The problem with this run of victories is that we expect them to continue. The reality is that someday, hopefully not Sunday, this team will be defeated in the championship. For a side which has dominated its sport for such a long period, we would have expected the whole country to be looking for new champions.
Not so with this current Kilkenny side. Well not this year anyway! Their displays over the past five years have rewritten the book on hurling, with each performance surpassing the last one. The skill displayed by the players over the years has drawn a whole new generation of supporters who reside beyond the boundaries of this county.
There is a widespread feeling both inside and outside of Kilkenny that this team deserves to make history by becoming five in-a-row champions. One would not expect that view to be held in Tipperary, of course, but even in the Premier County there is genuine admiration at the achievements of this current Kilkenny side.
Favourites tag
The Cats are favourites, but it's a tag that becomes irrelevant once the ball is thrown in by referee Michael Wadding. Tipperary and Kilkenny are the top two hurling teams at the moment and their appearance in the final is no surprise, even if the Premier County took a longer route than expected to get to Croke Park.
As in recent years, the crowds attending training sessions in Nowlan Park are truly phenomenal. It is a remarkable tribute to a great bunch of players, but it also shows the incredible level of expectation in the county right now.
The confident mood – way over-confident in some cases – has been jolted over the past few weeks as a result of injuries to a number of players. Even if the news on the injury front is now far less worrying, nevertheless, there has to be some nagging doubts about the players involved.
We know Brian Hogan is definitely out. He may not command the headlines like some of his colleagues, but he is a very consistent player and is a huge loss. It is really bad luck on the O'Loughlin Gaels player as he appeared to have recovered from the shoulder injury he received against Cork.
The miraculous recovery by Henry Shefflin and John Tennyson is a huge boost. Their return to training may well be a miracle of medical science, but in truth it is a tribute to two men who put their lives on hold as they undertook a phenomenal amount of gruelling work in the gym to build up their shattered knees.
The reality is that both have serious injuries, but they are prepared to go beyond the normal level of human endurance to make the All-Ireland team. Assuming they encounter no setback this week, both are likely to start.
Greatest hurler
Shefflin, the game's greatest hurler, not just brings a scoring presence to the attack, but remarkable leadership. Just think back to Kilkenny's last game against Cork. Maybe the tie was pretty safe by the time Shefflin departed with an injury, but the work rate from the attack sagged decidedly after his departure.
Had Shefflin remained on the field he would not have tolerated any slackening off in effort. While the availability of Shefflin and Tennyson is a massive boost, caution is urged as their injuries could well recur in a flash.
It is a tough call for manager Brian Cody and his selectors whether they should start two players who are carrying serious injuries. This final will be physical and every player will need to be in peak condition.
Starting Shefflin and Tennyson is a gamble. For such an important game, it is a gamble worth taking. If Tennyson does not start then James Ryall is the likely replacement, but don't rule out the possibility of a sensational debut for Danesfort's Paddy Hogan.
The elder of the Hogan boys is well up to the job.
Crowd favourite Tommy Walsh is also entering Sunday's final under a cloud. His well-published joust with Jackie Tyrell in a recent club game saw the Tullaroan player on the treatment table and he was a major doubt up to 10 days ago. All appears to be well now, but like Shefflin and Tennyson, lingering doubts remain as to Tommy's welfare.
Last year's defeat by Kilkenny hurt Tipperary deeply. What was mainly a young and inexperienced team almost succeeded in thwarting the Cats quest for a fourth consecutive title.
It was a loss many Tipperary supporters found very hard to accept. If the roles were reversed, I imagine Kilkenny supporters would have felt the same way.
Tipperary is still a young side, but the players are more experienced this time. They are, without doubt, the side best suited to take over from Kilkenny, but it remains to be seen if they can match the champions for hunger and intensity. Getting so close last year is no guarantee that they can overcome their great rivals this time.
It is hard to see any change in the Kilkenny midfield where James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick's intelligence and energy compliments the work rate and industry of Michael Fennelly. They will need to be at their best because Shane McGrath and Brendan Maher have formed a pretty formidable pairing for Tipperary.
Michael Rice is back to full health, but a place in the side is not guaranteed. He could oust 'Cha' Fitzpatrick for a midfield spot, but a position on the half forward line is more likely.
Under pressure
Watching the training in Nowlan Park, the player possibly coming under most pressure in attack may well be Eddie Brennan. It is incredible to think of Kilkenny entering the final without Brennan in his usual corner-forward role.
The Graigue-Ballycallan attacker is one of the game's outstanding goal-getters and has consistently kept his best form for All-Ireland Sunday. If Brennan is selected then maybe T.J. Reid might be the one to lose out.
It's tough on any player not to be selected for an All-Ireland final, but remember there is every likelihood that the Kilkenny substitutes will play a vital role.
Tipperary is a team on a mission and the side has been gathering momentum quite impressively in recent games. Let us forget the Cork game. That is now an irrelevant statistic.
It has taken time for Liam Sheedy to shape his team this year, but he would now appear to have finally found his best 15 and more importantly, their best positions.
Tipperary must match Kilkenny's work-rate and intensity if they are to overcome their great rivals. They met and bettered everything Kilkenny threw at them last year, but only for 65 minutes.
When the heat was at its most intense in the closing five minutes Tipperary was found wanting. A similar collapse will be fatal on Sunday.
Tough, physical
The final will be a tough, physical encounter in which the performance of referee Michael Wadding will be important. The Waterford official is a strict disciplinarian and his interpretation of those crunching tackles will be crucial.
Conceding frees is so costly, so the team that displays the greater discipline will be doing its cause no harm at all.
This is a desperately difficult game to call. With a full complement of players, all fully fit, Kilkenny possess the vital ingredients to make history. With doubts remaining about the well-being of a few players the odds have narrowed significantly.
If history is to be made, victory will have to be achieved by awesome work rate and raw intensity from the champions. This Kilkenny side has scaled unbelievable heights over the past five years.
Its Everest arrives on Sunday in the shape of Tipperary. One believes that on Sunday the highest summit on an epic journey can be reached.
Kilkenny will achieve that immortality by the skin of its teeth!
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Weather for Kilkenny
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South
