Sunday, July 23

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final

Kilkenny v Limerick, Croke Park, 3.30pm (RTE)

Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow)

Extra-time if necessary

When gauging whether this year’s All-Ireland SHC Final will produce a different result than last year’s between the two same teams, it makes sense to put a microscope over Limerick’s win last year.

In fact, put aside the microscope, because the key to that victory was very much in plain view.

Limerick’s half-forward line scored 1-13 from play in the 2022 Final, divided between Gearoid Hegarty (1-5), Tom Morrissey (0-4), and Kyle Hayes (0-4).

It speaks volumes for Kilkenny’s tenacity that they still got within two points of Limerick despite being cut to pieces by their half-forwards.

So, the big question going into Sunday’s match is whether Kilkenny can limit that line of the Limerick attack more effectively than they did last year.

The fact that Kyle Hayes has been relocated to the Limerick half-back line should be a source of encouragement for Kilkenny, because they really struggled to contain him in the number 11 jersey last year.

Kilkenny centre-back, Richie Reid, is a brilliant ball-player and the source of so many Kilkenny attacks thanks to his ability to angle beautiful deliveries into his forwards, but he struggled to contain Hayes’ pure power and direct running in last year’s Final.

Tom Morrissey, who is likely to start at centre-forward on Sunday, is another physical specimen, but he doesn’t have Hayes’ top-end speed. You could argue too that moving Morrissey into the centre weakens Limerick’s attack down the flanks, even if David Reidy is having his best season ever for the Shannonsiders.

Gearoid Hegarty, man of the match in last year’s All-Ireland Final, looks like he’s coming into form at the right time of the season, but he hasn’t been as prolific this year as he was last year.

All of which when you put it together suggests the Limerick half-forward line may not be as well-equipped to dominate the 2023 All-Ireland Final to the same extent it did the 2022 version.

On the flip-side, Mikey Carey’s absence this year is a loss for the Kilkenny half-back line. David Blanchfield has done well in his absence, but this is his biggest test yet, and you can be sure Limerick will make a point of testing whether he has fully recovered from the chest injury that threatened his participation in Sunday’s Final.

Kilkenny will take encouragement from the fact that two of Limerick’s defensive lynchpins, team captain Declan Hannon and four-in-row All-Star, Sean Finn, have been ruled out through injury.

After a somewhat uncertain first half William O’Donoghue grew into the centre-back role against Galway, but Hannon has been the best number six in the country for the last six years and is a big loss.

Not just from a defensive point of view, either. His ability to deliver angled passes from deep positions and pop up with big scores himself has made him a important contributor to Limerick’s attack.

O’Donoghue is a very solid replacement, but moving him out of the midfield where he has been such a powerful performer for Limerick feels like a rob Peter to pay Paul situation.

Finn is the best man-marking corner-back in the game and would have been detailed to pick up Kilkenny’s main danger-man, Eoin Cody, were he fit today. You can be sure Cody is happy the Bruff man won’t be shadowing him on Sunday.

The Limerick full-back line has occasionally looked vulnerable without Finn, so expect Kilkenny to rain plenty of ball down on the likes of Cody, TJ Reid, Martin Keoghan and Billy Ryan and go for goals like they did in the Leinster Final against Galway.

In Finn’s absence, we can expect Mike Casey to take on the job of trying to curb Cody’s influence in what will be one of the key battles of the game. If Casey comes out on top, it’s hard to see Kilkenny building a winning scoring total.

At the other end of the field, Kilkenny did quite well last year against Limerick’s inside forwards and will need to repeat the trick.

Huw Lawlor limited Aaron Gillane to two points in the ’22 Final and their duel will be worth the price of admission alone.

Quite often on All-Ireland Final day it’s a less heralded forward who catches fire, so even if Lawlor can tame Gillane again then there’s every chance Seamus Flanagan or Peter Casey could be match-winners.

TJ Reid’s free-taking ability has played a huge role in Kilkenny’s progress to this Final, so you can be sure that John Kiely will have drilled home to his players that discipline in the tackle will be key.

If Limerick don’t cough up the same sort of cheap frees that Clare did in the semi-final, then it’s hard to make the case for Kilkenny outscoring Limerick in open play.

Limerick’s middle six in particular have proven themselves to be much more prolific than Kilkenny’s, and that could well prove to be a telling factor on Sunday.

The Cats really put it up to Limerick in last year’s Final but Kiely’s men still found a way to come out on top.

There’s every chance this year’s re-run goes along similar lines.

LIMERICK: N Quaid; M Casey, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes, W O’Donoghue, K Hayes; D O’Donovan, C Lynch; G Hegarty, D Reidy, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, P Casey. Subs: D McCarthy, C Boylan, R Connolly, A Costelloe, C Coughlan, A English, G Mulcahy, B Murphy, A O’Connor, C O’Neill, O O’Reilly.

KILKENNY: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; D Blanchfield, R Reid, P Deegan; C Fogarty, A Mullen; T Phelan, M Keoghan, J Donnelly; B Ryan, TJ Reid, E Cody (capt). Subs: D Brennan, C Delaney, C Buckley, P Walsh, D Corcoran, A Murphy, C Kenny, T Clifford, W Walsh, R Hogan, B Drennan.