IN ALL FAIRNESS - Gazing into the 2023 Sporting Ball
Once the merriment of Christmas and the New Year wears off, it doesn’t take long for the sporting scene to crank back into gear and with 2022 now behind us, there is always a level of excitement for what 2023 might bring.
Looking back over this column from twelve months ago, it is hard to believe we were still in the grip of Covid and the arrival of the omicron variant, which impacted things for a brief period, but largely the 2022 sporting year ran off as normal with events going ahead and spectators allowed into venues without restriction.
Soccer
What wasn’t normal in 2022 was a winter World Cup but the impact of it on the club season means a busy start to the year as rounds lost to the six-week break have to be made up and the soccer fans out there won’t be short on games in January and February to make up for lost time.
In an Irish context, March is when the Republic of Ireland get going again and this will be the defining year in the reign of senior men’s manager Stephen Kenny. The lee-way he has enjoyed over the last two years is running out and this is a year something need to happen.
The draw for qualifying for Euro2024 hasn’t been kind with World Cup final runners-up France and the Netherlands in their group. The likelihood is they won’t finish first or second to qualify directly for Germany. Playing France early in the campaign in March, possibly with the French still a little dazed from the World Cup, might be their best chance of getting an early result to generate momentum and belief, much like what happened in 2000 when Ireland went to Amsterdam and drew with the Dutch which kick-started their qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
However, that was an experienced Ireland squad. Kenny is still working with a largely young and immature squad, who we have seen don’t have the consistency from game to game. If results go to form in the group, the likelihood is Ireland are playing for third place against Greece and it is likely that the results against them will determine whether the Kenny era gets extended beyond 2023 as they might get to qualify through the convoluted Nations League. A fourth-place finish in the group and it will be the end for the Ireland boss.
Much of the soccer focus this year will be on the Republic of Ireland ladies when they play in their very first World Cup in Australia in July and August. A first tournament will take women’s soccer in this country to a whole new level and while Ireland will be up against it to progress beyond the group stage, that they will be involved and have the late July/early August period to themselves in terms of coverage, they are in a no-lose situation in terms of promotional value, bar they struggle completely but there is a slim chance of that.
Rugby
It feels like we have been waiting for 2023 for ages in terms of Irish rugby. It brings with is an element of excitement, but also trepidation. In terms of the latter, the last time Ireland went into the New Year as world number one was in 2019 when they never brought their form from the previous year, struggling in the Six Nations and the World Cup, again falling at the quarter final stage.
With that fresh in their minds, Ireland should be well-prepared for all eventualities. They do have to deal with the Six Nations first where they enter the winnable year with both France and England at home. The France game in round 2 is likely to be the biggest one as it has the potential of being a World Cup quarter final, or indeed a final itself. Getting one up on the French, the only side Ireland failed to beat in 2022, will set Andy Farrell’s men up well.
Winning a Six Nations is not imperative, but they need to come out of it without any major psychological damage. Remember in 2019 when Ireland lost to England in round one and their year never recovered. They start with a very tricky game away to Wales, particularly with Warren Gatland back at the helm in the valleys. The Italians don’t look like the soft touch they once were, while the trip to Scotland will have World Cup ramifications as they meet in France later in the year so Ireland cannot afford to be looking ahead during the Six Nations.
Ireland will break their World Cup quarter final duck at some stage, it might be this year, it might not be, as the draw is difficult, but hopefully their ambition won’t be just about that as you have to aim high in any professional sport and Ireland need to have the aim of winning the tournament outright. They have the ability to do it but realistically it would be some achievement as it would mean beating South Africa, New Zealand and/or France, and that is just to make a semi-final. Those three sides tend to flex their muscles in a World Cup year and France apart, South Africa and New Zealand are unlikely to struggle as much as they did last year.
In terms of Munster, finishing in the top eight of the URC to get into the next Champions Cup would appear to be their aim for the second half of the season. It would be hard to comprehend Munster not being in Europe’s elite tournament but that is what could happen unless they become more consistent in the second half of the season as the Graham Rowntree era continues to evolve.
Nenagh Ormond are in a similar situation in terms of their AIL campaign, having won four and lost four of their games so far. They should comfortably avoid being sucked into another relegation battle, but they have the quality to finish in the top four and get into the end of season playoffs, which would probably require them winning up to six of their remaining ten games to achieve.
GAA
By the time you read this, the 2023 inter-county season will have begun for the Tipperary senior hurlers, over seven months after they were last in competitive action.
It feels like an eternity but is one of the impacts of the split-season, however, it should lead to a hunger for action, and certainly Tipperary supporters are craving some positivity.
The last couple of years haven’t been the easiest and even under a new manager in Liam Cahill who enjoyed great success at underage level, there is no guarantee that it will carry over into senior level. Tipp have a lot of ground to make up, but it will only happen step by step.
The National League has been devalued in recent years, but I would think Tipperary will be one of the counties that will take it seriously as they desperately need some wins to generate momentum. The Tipp squad is still talented, with plenty of youth and experience. They could also do with a bit of luck in terms of injury and certainly that is due.
Getting to the knockout stages of the National League, plus getting in the top 3 in Munster Championship would be a good year for Tipperary, anything after that would be a bonus. The Munster Championship is very tough starting off with two away games in Clare and Cork, finishing arguably with the two toughest games at home to Limerick and Waterford.
In terms of Gaelic Football, it is a whole new era for the game with the round-robin All-Ireland Championship and Tailteann Cup coming this year. It will mean eleven guaranteed games between league and championship so a busy year for players and mentors, and plenty of choice for supporters.
Tipperary had a mixed 2022, with the high point being promoted to division 3 in the National League. Retaining their division 3 status has to be their target, but if they get on a run, there is no reason why they cannot challenge for promotion as it isn’t far the most daunting set of teams. Indeed, it is very open and could see teams taking points off each other.
Being promoted from division 3 would also see Tipp qualify for the main All-Ireland Championship but I’m not convinced that would be in the long term best interests of Tipp football as they have lost a lot of talented players. A good run in the round-robin Tailteann Cup might serve them best in 2023.
In terms of Camogie, Denis Kelly steps in as Tipperary senior manager and looks to break the glass-ceiling of reaching an All-Ireland final with has eluded them in recent years. They have the players to do so but have lacked some x-factor players to help bridge the gap to Cork, Galway and Kilkenny.
Not only that, the chasing pack behind Tipp have also caught up, particularly the likes of Clare and Waterford so after failing to emerge from the group stages of the championship in 2022, the initial target has to be getting to the All-Ireland quarter finals and take it from there. A fit again Karen Kennedy and finding a scoring forward to take the pressure off Cait Devane would go along way for Tipperary to have a good 2023. Any form of silverware would be a step in the right direction as it is the last piece of the jig-saw.
Tipperary have found the going tough at senior level in ladies’ football since they were promoted in 2019. Injuries and Aussie Rules haven’t helped so retaining their senior status in 2022 was an achievement in itself. With the potential return of Aisling Moloney from long term injury this year, Tipp will get a great boost in quality, and it would be added to if they were able to get a commitment from Aussie Rules stars Orla O’Dwyer and Ashling McCarthy to do the same prior to the next Aussie Rules season, like Meath’s Vicky Wall has done, and not only would it give a huge boost to Tipperary, but also to the profile of ladies football nationally.
Retaining their division 2 league and senior championship status, the latter possibly reaching an All-Ireland quarter final would be a good year.