WHEN Kilkenny and Tipperary met in the league in Nowlan Park at the end of February, Tipp led for the majority of the match.
They played the better hurling for long stages but just when Tipp appeared set for a memorable victory, it evaporated in front of them during a frenetic few minutes before the final whistle.
Kevin Kelly delivered the deadly blows with goals in the 67th and 72nd minutes. It was a familiar result to a sequence of matches between the counties stretching back over five years.
For Brian Cody, though, the winning just goes on and on. Cody is now on an eighth Tipperary manager since he took over in the autumn of 1998 and Michael Ryan was left with a similar bitter feeling that the previous seven had also tasted.
Kilkenny have been so good for so long now that winning goes beyond cups and trophies and glory. They have established a culture that just demands excellence, every day they play, no matter the setting or the opponent. The winning sensation always tastes that bit sweeter against their great rivals Tipp, though.
Kilkenny wanted to make a statement too. When Tipperary defeated Kilkenny in Thurles in March 2015, Tipp did more than just win a match; it was Tipp’s biggest win in 50 years over their modern nemesis. It was Kilkenny’s biggest defeat since the 2011 League final hammering to Dublin.
Kilkenny were depleted. They were down the Ballyhale Shamrocks contingent. It was Kilkenny’s third defeat in-a-row. They were weak and vulnerable and Tipp finally exploited it to arrest a trend that had become agonising and painful. In their 12 League and Championship meetings since the 2010 All-Ireland final, it was only Tipp’s second win.
After that 2010 success, the future looked set to belong to Tipp. Kilkenny’s best days appeared behind them. That was the expectation until the Kilkenny machine started raging again. Kilkenny won four of the next five All-Irelands. Tipp are still waiting for another title. What’s more, Tipp’s yearning for greater glory has repeatedly been slaughtered and sacrificed on Kilkenny’s altar of domination.
The dynamic of the relationship has completely changed. Prior to 2002, one of the most extraordinary statistics in hurling was that Tipperary had only lost once to Kilkenny in the Championship over the previous 80 years. Now, Tipp have won only one of their last nine Championship meetings in just 13 years. Three League final defeats in six seasons to their great rivals has also shoveled more salt into a gaping wound that Tipp cannot close.
In their last seven Championship matches, Kilkenny worked harder in all but one – the 2010 final. Mentally and physically, Kilkenny have been stronger, more assured. Most of the games have been played on their terms. Tipp were brilliant in the 2014 drawn All-Ireland final but in the replay they were submerged beneath Kilkenny’s tide of power and sheer force of will. In the second half, Tipp’s four key assassins – Seamus Callanan, John O’Dwyer, Noel McGrath and Lar Corbett – were restricted to a combined 12 plays.
Mentally, Kilkenny have always felt they have had Tipp’s number, that they could get at certain Tipp players and hustle them out of their stride. The manner in which they felt some Tipp players overlooked Kilkenny’s legacy after the 2010 final added more poison to the tip of Kilkenny’s blade. And Kilkenny have been slashing their face ever since.
The scars have always been evident. Tipp led Kilkenny by 10 points in the 2014 League and ended up losing by six. The sequence of results suggests an inferiority complex and mental frailty but Tipp have still produced too much quality to distil the ongoing trend into that category.
“Being honest, the best hurling Tipperary do is against Kilkenny,” said Eoin Kelly in 2015.
“If Tipp were afraid of them, that wouldn’t happen. The Tipperary dressing room loves the Kilkenny challenge.”
Failing to get over the line, though, is still intertwined with the mental strength and sense of mission that is required to beat Kilkenny. Apart from the physicality and intensity Kilkenny always bring, their greater composure and better decision making under pressure has also been a defining factor in the modern history.
The closing stages of the 2014 League final was a classic case study in how those subtle
margins between the teams has reflected the gulf. With time up in extra-time, Darren Gleeson tried to do the right thing when attempting to pick out a team-mate with a free but the ball went over the sideline. TJ Reid dinked the sideline cut into Richie Hogan’s and immediately ran for the return pass before slotting it on the run.
Prior to last August’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway, the last match in each of Tipp previous six seasons was against Kilkenny, which shows how much the fixture had come to define Tipp.
There were times when Tipp were so desperate to beat Kilkenny that it almost became an obsession, especially when this generation’s legacy has been so heavily viewed through the prism of Kilkenny, and not being able to beat them.
Even since 2010, this is largely a different generation of Tipp players. Only five of the 19 players which started the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway – Mickey Cahill, Padraic Maher, Brendan Maher, Patrick Maher, Seamus Callanan and Noel McGrath – featured against Kilkenny in the 2010 All-Ireland final.
Kilkenny, though, have undergone even more radical transition. Only three of the 20 players they used in that 2010 final will feature next weekend (Michael Fennelly is injured). Yet Kilkenny have still managed to keep winning, especially against Tipp.
Tipp are desperate to alter their culture of results against Kilkenny. And a win in this final would go a long way towards healing the hurt and pain that Kilkenny have spent so long inflicting on them.
