Without having the Co-Op Superstores Munster Senior Hurling League results to hand, it can still be said with a fair degree of certainty that the hurlers of Cork and Limerick have met three times already this season.
It would be a very brave – or foolish – individual who would bet against them having at least one more rendezvous before the year is out.
However, though Ben O’Connor’s crew came out on top in the latest enthralling chapter in the competition that keeps on giving, they will be left reeling by the cost at which the success was accrued.
With news emerging on Monday afternoon that the anchor of the Rebel County rearguard Ciaran Joyce had, as feared, succumbed to the curse of a cruciate ligament injury.
And, as if that wasn’t a catastrophic enough outcome, it was also revealed that Joyce’s most likely replacement, Rob Downey, is also stricken and facing weeks rather than months on the sidelines.
Now, the one thing not a problem for the Rebels at present is resources. Consider that the prodigious Diarmuid Healy has only been a bit part player thus far this season and that the man mountain that is Ben Cunningham has got little or no game time at all.
With regard to the two casualties at hand, though, it will probably be a case of Eoin Downey going back to full back and either Cormac O’Brien or Ger Millerick slotting into the half back line in place of the other Downey brother. Not exactly weakening the deck of cards, now is it?
For their part, John Kiely and Limerick will have to plan for at least a little while without the mercurial Cian Lynch after the flame haired flyer was on the receiving end of a much talked about red card from the typically obfuscating James Owens. Who, like Johnny Murphy, is still somehow on the inter county panel.
That said, if we are to take the rule literally per word (striking or attempting to strike), it’s a stone wall red all day long. The only contentions I would have with the decision are as follows – (1) If you were to send off a player every time somebody did what Lynch was gated for you’d have very few players left on the field and (2) while I would have no problem with Lynch being put off, I do feel the GAA could do a lot worse (and have already done) than review the whole mechanics around sendings off in our games.
Yes, if a player does something which merits a red card they should get it. True also that, if their offending is deemed serious enough, of course they should be gone for the remainder of the day in question and banned for a longer period thereafter if the case merits it, but is there a case for making the sanctions imposed applicable to the individual involved only?
Right, there is of course the valid argument that they are team sports and if one cog thereof f*cks up, they should all suffer. But, given the changing dynamics of the game, is it disproportionate for a team to play an elongated period down a player? To my mind, it smacks of double taxation.
You’re down the input of the transgressing individual as it is but given the speed at and intensity with which games are now played, might there be an opportunity to try something like the 20 minute red card in rugby? With that, a team plays for 20 minutes down a player but can then bring in a replacement. Why not try that in our games, depending on the gravity of the discretion involved? Just a thought.
For what it’s worth, while a mesmeric talent like Lynch is obviously going to be a loss, it would be ventured that, since their breakthrough of about a decade ago, Limerick have their strongest panel yet. If you consider that Tom Morrissey almost came on unnoticed on Sunday and that brother Dan was nowhere to be seen and yet, even down a man, they came within a hare’s breath of pulling of the most unlikely of recoveries.
Mind you, John Kiely’s philosophical response thereafter probably tells you all you need to know “It’s game one of four, we can still play ourselves back into it”. You can be sure Ben O’Connor will be fully expecting them to do so. As neutrals, we can but hope the two of them as near as is possible to full strength when – rather than if – they meet again. Somebody order the popcorn!
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