Cork hurling fans are back in dreamland this week following their win over Limerick in the Munster Final on Sunday. Many pundits have put them up alongside Kilkenny as the two main contender for Liam McCarthy this year but on current form, should Cork be considered the best team in the country right now. Two JOEs argue the point.
Joe Harrington says... "Corcaigh Abu, Rebels Abu, The Rebels are back" roared the captain of Cork, Pa Cronin, in his speech after their Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final win over Limerick on Sunday. The Rebels are back winning silverware, yes, but they are not the best hurling team in the country. Not yet anyway.
It was plain to see for anyone who was watching the Munster Final last weekend just how much winning that game meant to the Cork team and supporters because they hadn't won anything since the Munster title on June 25 in 2006. Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' was top of the charts that day and to be honest, they'd be lying to themselves if they didn't admit that was a disgraceful length of time for a county with Cork's hurling tradition to wait for another trophy. The famine is over though and the sense of joy and relief was evident in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday.
Okay, Cork are Munster Champions again and they're into the All-Ireland semi-final but in my opinion, they are not the best team in the country and here's why.
Firstly, I have to say that Jimmy Barry Murphy and his coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for what they've done with the team this year. Plenty of people were writing them off at the start of year saying they over-achieved last year. They probably did but those young players still played in a Munster Final and two All-Ireland Finals so Jimmy would have learned a lot about his men and he knew what he needed to change going into this year.
Aidan Walsh has been nothing short of a revelation, bringing in Alan Cadogan and Bill Cooper has been a masterstroke while Mark Ellis has done well at centre back so overall it's been hugely positive so far but I still feel they are a bit behind guess who... Kilkenny in terms of who is top dog in the country at the moment.
JBM learned a lot from last year but Brian Cody has also learned from 2013 and he's introduced some new faces with Padraig Walsh, Conor Fogarty and John Power getting their chance to impress. He's been holding Henry Shefflin, Aidan Fogarty and Tommy Walsh on the bench so that shows you that type of forward planning Cody's plotting.
If you look at the games Cork have played so far, they beat a Waterford team that's in transition after a replay, they got past a Clare side who were a pale shadow of the team that won the All-Ireland and they beat Limerick in a game that could have gone either way until Paudie O'Sullivan's late goal.
Kilkenny, on the other hand, easily disposed of Offaly first time out. Yes, they took two games to beat Galway but they were never going to lose the first and they destroyed the Tribesmen in the second and then the Leinster Final win over Dublin was just as comprehensive. I was in Croke Park for the game and the Cats killed it in the second half in a manner that we've seen from them (bar last year) for over a decade; it's ominous form.
The word 'hunger' gets thrown around the place a lot in sport and that's one thing that both of these sides should have in abundance. Cork having come so close last year and the drought without All-Ireland success will drive them on and then Kilkenny, who were knocked off their perch last year, will be eager to bounce back, but I want to look a little close at this whole 'hunger' thing, specifically with these two sides.
If you glance at it quickly you'd think that the longer a team goes without success, the more hunger they'll have to win something but I'm not so sure about that. I think it might actually work the other way around; if you taste success on a regular basis and it's taken away from you, you will be hell-bent on getting it back as quickly as possible.
This Cork team have nobody left from the team that won the All-Ireland Final in 2005 so they don't know what it's like to win it, they haven't felt what it's like to be the best. On the other hand, Kilkenny are used to being the best, they were the best in six of the last eight years, they are addicted to being the best and that's why I think they want it more, they have more hunger.
To sum up, I think these sides are the top two in the country with Tipperary lurking just behind in their shadows. There's very little between Cork and Kilkenny in terms of ability but I think if they played a game tomorrow, the Cats would win.
Alan Loughnane says... As much as it pains me to admit it, from what I have seen of Cork both this year and last year I have to say yes, they probably are the best team in the country at this particular moment in time.
Over the last year or more, Cork have beaten all of the top teams they’ve come up against. Last year they defeated Kilkenny in the qualifiers and Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final. This year, they have beaten Waterford, Clare and Limerick. It is difficult to say that any team are currently better than them because they have come out on top against them all over the past 18 months.
Last year they almost came out top of the pile but for a last minute wonder point from Clare corner back Domhnall O’Donovan. But last year you felt like Cork just had their 15 starting players and as they came to a critical juncture in games, they lacked the firepower off the bench to really drive on and put games to bed.
This season, with the addition of Aidan Walsh and Damien Cahalane to the starting team as well as the emergence of Bill Cooper at centre forward, Cork look like a more rounded team. They have established stars like William Egan, Eoin Cadogan and Paudie O’Sullivan propping up the bench just waiting to get a taste of the action. Not many other counties have such strength in depth.
It must be said that they have one of the finest forward lines in the country at the moment. They have a ball winning half-forward line who are all extremely mobile and cover the ground brilliantly.
Seamus Harnedy is consistently brilliant at wing forward while the all-action Conor Lehane on the other wing is a handful for any wing back. Free-taking is not an issue with Pa Horgan shooting them over with laser-like precision as well as contributing valuable scores from play as well. Young Alan Cadogan has been a revelation this year and is already a leading candidate for Young Hurler of the year.
In midfield, the tireless Aidan Walsh, combined with the energetic Daniel Kearney, create one of the most effective partnerships in the country. Walsh’s aerial prowess is also a major asset on both Cork’s and the opposition’s puck outs. Clare saw Peter Duggan’s influence on the game diminish when Walsh dropped in his channel to challenge for the puck outs.
Although there is little doubt surrounding Cork in attack, there are still question marks hanging over their defence. Mark Ellis is in his first season at centre back and while he is a talented hurler, Donal O’Grady secured a mountain of possession for Limerick in that area as well as knocking over a couple of handy points. You can bet Brian Cody was making notes about it in his little black book and other teams will see this as an area to target. But Jimmy Barry Murphy is a clever operator and Cork will surely have some plans in place to make sure that nothing like that happens again.
In the full back line, Shane O’Neill has been the outstanding corner back in the country for the past number of years but he is covering full back more and more these days. The Bishopstown man doesn’t look quite as comfortable playing in the middle and he isn’t the biggest man in the world so you can expect the likes of Dublin to try and isolate him one and one with Conal Keaney or Kilkenny with Walter Walsh. However, O’Neill is a confident guy and you can bet he will be chomping at the bit to mark either of these guys and help his county avenge last year’s final defeat.
Right now, if you were ranking All-Ireland contenders, you would have to fancy Cork to win the Liam McCarthy Cup. If Cork play well, there aren’t many teams that can cope with the scoring power of their forwards and while there are some question marks surrounding their backs, they have subs like William Egan and Eoin Cadogan to throw into the mix to stop any leaks.
They’re looking good.
