Burning Issue: Are Kilkenny actually unbeatable?

After Kilkenny massacred a fancied Dublin side at the weekend, some GAA folk are starting to wonder if the current Cats crop can actually be beaten. Two JOE staffers have their say.

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Conor Heneghan says... they say death and taxes are the only two inevitabilities of life, but you might as well add Kilkenny picking up the Liam MacCarthy Cup on an annual basis to the end of that list.

Because for GAA fans of a certain vintage, that’s just the way it is. As Homer Simpson might say of the prospects for the challenging counties, the first Sunday of September is one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead that somebody can dethrone a team that must now be the undisputed holders of the Greatest GAA team of all Time mantle.

Tipperary did manage that feat, of course, after one of the greatest finals of all time in 2010 and probably should have done it a year earlier too. But that 2010 All-Ireland Final defeat amazingly represents Kilkenny’s one and only Championship defeat in the last seven years and say what you like about the weakness of the Leinster Championship and, with respect to Waterford, the lack of any really serious contenders outside Tipperary in recent years, but that is one damn impressive statistic.

After the 2010 final, the talk was that Tipp, who had just denied the Cats an unprecedented five-in-a-row triumph, would go on to dominate the small ball game for years to come. They had a side packed full of young talent and perhaps more importantly, they weren’t weighed down by the fear of playing Kilkenny that has many a team beaten before they even turn up.

Predictions of Tipp’s future dominance was music to the ears of Brian Cody and company, because as curious as these Cats might have been at what the five-in-a-row achievement would actually have felt like, it certainly didn’t kill them.

When you’ve a raft of All-Ireland medals weighing down the mantelpiece it must be hard to come up with causes to do it all over again, but somehow Cody and Kilkenny manage it. In 2011, it was to prove that rumours of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

Last weekend, Anthony Daly must have been mortified at the forecasts of many pundits that the Dubs might cause a shock. Riled at such a preposterous suggestion, Kilkenny went and won by 18 points – without last year’s Hurler of the Year Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice – and the pundits once again learned that even slightly questioning the Cats is a futile exercise.

Can they be beaten this year? In a word, no.

Of the contenders, Dublin have already shown how far they are away, while if Galway continue to leak goals like they have been so far, the Leinster Final will be an ugly affair.

The Munster Championship has been rightly acclaimed for its quality this season, but put Kilkenny in there and it mightn’t be half as exciting. Clare and Limerick have potential that won’t be fully fulfilled this season, Waterford have suffered more than most at Kilkenny’s hands in recent years and even though Cork are better than the 14-point league final defeat, they too have a few development stages to go through before they can dine at the top table.

Which leaves Tipperary. The Premier remain probably the only county capable of beating Kilkenny on their day, but in my own humble opinion, they have regressed ever so slightly since the 2010 All-Ireland Final win and although a force to be reckoned with, without Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett at full tilt they are lacking a couple of ruthless predators in attack.

So how long can this spell of relentless dominance continue? Kilkenny’s old guard show no signs of slowing down just yet, but even when they do, their current regeneration policy seems to be working just fine.

Paul Murphy went from Championship debutant to All-Star last season; Cillian Buckley rendered the absence of Fennelly and Rice against Dublin insignificant, while players such as the Richies, Power and Hogan, TJ Reid and Brian Hogan have taken on more responsibility in the team in the last couple of years.

Someday, Brian Cody will exit stage left and Tommy and Henry will hang up their hurls, but judging by this little fella, it’s not just the immediate future that’s in good hands.

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Sean Nolan says... my father, a Wexford man, has seen enough beatings dished out to his beloved county by Kilkenny to last a lifetime. And while he says every year that we don’t have a chance, he also always reasserts this mantra about Kilkenny about 50 times a year: “They’re just men Sean, two arms, two legs, no different.”

That’s worth remembering as reading some of the coverage this week you would think that the XV that Brian Cody send out to represent him have retractable legs so they can leap up at you better and four ears, two for listening, two for back up (thanks Fr. Dougal).

Yes they were impressive against Dublin last Saturday, very impressive in fact. Hell, they have only lost one Championship match since Galway did them in a 2005 thriller so there is no doubt they are the top dogs, or Cats. And the apparent slippage by Tipp, Dublin’s failure to progress and Galway’s quixotic form has led to the belief that they can’t be beaten.

Okay, it won’t be easy. They are favourites, justifiably so, for yet another All-Ireland this year but there are a few major hurdles for them to cross before we hand them another Liam MacCarthy.

Firstly there’s Galway. The only team to beat Cody twice in the Championship (2001 was the other Tribe success), they have no fear of the Cats, despite the recent form guide making for grisly reading. Galway are the Italy of hurling – capable of great highs and lows - and can turn it on like few others, if the mood takes them. A Leinster final shock wouldn’t end Kilkenny’s year but it would be a huge boost to the game if Galway could pull it off.

Then there’s Cork. We saw last Sunday that Jimmy Barry Murphy is working his magic again on Leeside. The greater guile of Tipp did for them on Sunday, and the extra man was never really employed successfully, but they will learn from that defeat. There’s a core of talented youngsters at JBM’s disposal and while the recent League final defeat to you-know-who was another brutal lesson, sooner rather than later these Rebels will take down the Empire.

And then there’s Tipp. Two years ago Kilkenny were unbeatable too. And they went down to an inspired Premier team that refused to bend to the Black and Amber. Since then they have lost Liam Sheedy, and a bit of their bite, but there were signs on Sunday, just signs but enough of them, to suggest that the old gang are getting it all back together. They have reached the last three All-Ireland finals and in all likelihood they will be back for Kilkenny v Tipp Part IV. The core of this Tipp team know they can beat Kilkenny. They can repeat the trick if anyone can.

In reality we have to look externally for signs that Kilkenny are beatable. Internally they are almost flawless, with parts being replaced and refitted with ruthless efficiency. There’s no dissension in the camp, no stories of late-night shenanigans, no players off to the US for the summer. They believe they are the best and that drives them on, regardless of who Cody throws the shirt at.

It makes them formidable, and the best that may have ever played the game. But unbeatable? No, they’re just men.