IN ALL FAIRNESS - Limerick remain the benchmark
Limerick remain the benchmark for all teams to measure themselves against.
Clare were the best team in the country in 2024 having won the National League and All-Ireland titles, but they have Cork to thank for taking Limerick out of their way in the semi-final as they, like Tipperary, struggle to find the answers to the Limerick conundrum. At the moment, Cork seem to be the only team to have the answers for the Shannonsiders.
Last Sunday was the fifteenth time, between league and championship, that Tipperary have come up against Limerick since John Kiely took charge in late 2017 with Tipp’s record now standing at two wins, one draw and now twelve defeats.
It’s an abysmal record and while some of the defeats have been narrow ones, they have tended to be the same kind, a strong first half effort, usually with a lead going into half time, before falling off in the second half. It was the same last Sunday as a one point half time lead was evaporated within seconds of the restart as the home side reeled off three points in as many minutes to reclaim the lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
However, while Limerick are the benchmark, Tipp can’t get too caught up on trying to take them down. Tipperary are better set-up to play against the likes of Cork and Clare, and come championship it may well be they that Tipp are targeting for wins in their quest to finish in the top 3.
That Tipp start out at home to Limerick on Easter Sunday, everything will be done to try and win that game, but the fear is the effort and the physicality it will take, and there is no guarantees of a win, they have to be ready to go again seven days later to play Cork in SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh, which could be a virtual eliminator in round 2, if Cork don’t get something from their All-Ireland final rematch with Clare.
That Limerick won impressively last weekend with many new faces trying to break into a champion team that has been around since 2018 is daunting for everyone else but there is no guarantee they will just seamlessly fit in if chosen. We in Tipp remember post 2010 and 2019 that with underage talent coming through that things would continue the same but it doesn’t work like that, particularly if John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk opt to move on at the end of their current two-year term in 2026.