Kilkenny V Tipperary....A/I Hurling S/F 19/08/2012

The poetic words of Dylan Thomas "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" apply here.

Is this "the last Hurrah" for un-doubtedly one of, if not, the finest hurling teams of all time, or is it, as many deem it, the relaunch pad of the never ending dream of unending success for Kilkenny Can Tipperary regain the skills, attitude and intensity of 2010 and fulminate them in one glorious 75 minutes on Sunday.

For the better part of the GAA's history Tipp were top-dogs, the golden days of the 50's and 60's, Hell's Kitchen of John Doyle, Maher and Carey repelled all comers, as the likes of Jimmy Doyle, Nealon and Liam Devaney racked up the scores. In the 60's and into the 70's the imperious and fabulously talented Michael Roche dictated matters, whether from 6 or 8....Kilkenny plucked the odd apple here or there.

Kilkenny gained serious momentum from the mid-70's onward, around 2 families in fairness, the Hendersons and the Fennellys. The Hendersons were "no frills" merchants from Johnstown, while the Ballyhale crowd brought the cutting edge. Throw in Frank Cummins and Chunky O'Brien and you're away...

It's much the same with them today, country backs and "townie" forwards....Tipp have the country backs but IMO village forwards..

Lar Corbett, if left loose, will score goals, but the verdict, while they're in decline is Kilkenny...

Tipp are waiting all year for a crack at Kilkenny. Last years final would have hurt a lot. Revenge will be sweet I think. My verdict is a resounding victory for the Premier County and the end of an era for the best hurling team I have ever seen. I hope to God I'm wrong and Kilkenny pull this out of the fire.

Up the Cats!!!

hurlingguru i took your advice and put my house on tip at 11/4. fingers cwossed

I think Tipp will win but I don't think I have ever backed against the Cats on tipster and may not start now! It will be interesting to see how Tipp minds handle the tragic situation with John O'Brien's brother this week.

No offence to anyone in particular but I think this is the real All-Ireland Final.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:No offence to anyone in particular but I think this is the real All-Ireland Final.

Ah lovely

the cats will have to much for tipp on sunday,eoin kelly is a big loss for tipp and will more than likely retire after sunday,he has to have pain killing injections to play any part in the game,kelly played a big part in beating cats in 2010 they just dont have the player to replace him,the most he will play sunday is cameo not enough in my opinoin .you heard hear first kelly to step down

Heading up tomorrow, I should be able to get Hill tickets up there shouldn't I?

Should be a cracker. Tipp haven't been overly impressive this year. Of course Kilkenny havent either but their extra motivation after the Leinster Final might just give them the edge here

Intense game so far.. Lar trying to get Tommy Walsh sent off if commentators are to be believed. Fancy Kilkenny at this stage.

Ger Loughnane what a legend: "It's such a ferocious game, you'd want to put your helmet on watching it".

TJ Reid and Pa Bourke the two great underachievers have come alive. Must be something going on this year these club hurlers finally transferring their form to county. Joe Canning is having a decent year too.

Not one of your better efforts Loyal.

Great game, huge intensity a la 09/10. Rice out, Shefflin not in it, Fennelly crocked. Tipp should pull away now

Tipp appear to have blown it

Kilkenny were at 11/10 at half time.

Tipp were a disgrace.

Great result for Galway. People already saying the Final is a formality.
Lovely

mossbags wrote:Tipp were a disgrace.

Great result for Galway. People already saying the Final is a formality.
Lovely

Apart from Marty's companion on RTE who sees that result as good for Galway as it will get rid of any complacency...

Kilkenny will walk the final.

Disgraceful performance from Tipperary in every sense. Some awesome stuff from Kilkenny. Reid hurled out of his skin, JJ imperious at 3 but in fairness to Lar Corbett, he held Tyrrell scoreless. Taggy rolled back the years while Shefflin avoided any heavy lifting today.
His pass for their first goal was sublime however.

The ref will doubtless come in for criticism and this will probably be dealt with behind closed doors. Tipp's approach to the game has to be questioned however. It's a proven fact over time that KK can deal with anything you care to throw at them. Setting the tempo for a physical battle was the wrong strategy.

Declan Ryan will be gone by Tuesday.

"Borrowed" from TFK for the night....



Thanks Rocko.

Horrific display.

Second to everything, hopelessly hitting the ball long on the rare occasions we managed to get possession at all. The forwards may as well not have been there.

Not optimistic about the future at all.

SamiPremier08 wrote:Horrific display.
Not optimistic about the future at all.

You have some cause for optimism Sami.

1. Ye' had fine minors, giving some hope.
2. It's likely that today ends Ryan's tenure.
3. Corbett can peg his hurl at it, finally.
4. Munster hurling is practically finished, only Kerry are below the norm now.
5. Babs may regain the levers of power.

Cracking banter across many fora tonight regarding this match. Talk of burst-ups in dressing-rooms, hotels and busses.
Twitter is also riotous.

By Wednesday Lar Corbett/Declan Ryan will have surpassed Dan Breen/Michael Lowry in column inches in terms of Tipp folklore.

Meanwhile, down by the Nore, the battle for the 6 forward starting berths begins in earnest....
Henry, Reid, Larkin, Fennelly, Power, Taggy, Hogan.......Management can be tough..

Word is that Lar was late out for the 2nd half because of a bust up with Ryan and that something similar happened on the bus home.
Dark days for Tipp, I'd have them only 4th in the pecking order going into Munster next year behind Limerick, Waterford and Cork but probably still ahead of Clare. Not that it matters much as Munster is in dire straights anyway these days.

Boxtyeater wrote:Cracking banter across many fora tonight regarding this match. Talk of burst-ups in dressing-rooms, hotels and busses.
Twitter is also riotous.

PV is in meltdown, Im told