Nicky English: Impressive Limerick silence the doubters

I said that we'd know more about the championship after this weekend. As it turns out, we ended up learning what we've known for the past four years: Limerick are on a level of their own.

The poor form of the league was swept away in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I had given Cork a chance on the basis that they would recover from the league final defeat and use the lessons but this performance didn’t register any improvement from that.

Effectively, we were back to the 2021 All-Ireland final; Limerick were imperious and Cork by the end in free-fall. It will be very challenging for Kieran Kingston and his selectors to pick up the pieces.

They started well, allowing that they had a strong breeze, and Limerick shot some poor wides in the first 10 minutes but any idea that the league was reliable precedent didn't survive once Diarmaid Byrnes took the game by the scruff of the neck and started belting points over the bar into the wind.

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They will have been delighted to have Mike Casey back in championship action, which allowed Kyle Hayes to go into the full forwards. I felt that counterattacking from wing back might have suited him more but, as he proved, when he’s closer to goal, he doesn’t have as far to travel and doesn’t have to beat as many defenders.

A potential worry is that he had to go off near the end and looked a bit uncomfortable.

Gradually, Limerick imposed themselves. Their defence – all six of them made a significant impact – suffocated most of what Cork had to offer and their forwards created huge pressure on the Cork backs when they had the ball. At times Pa Collins, the goalkeeper was forced out to the corner flags to find space to clear.

Cian Lynch wasn't as dominant an influence as last year but he had his moments, even though effectively chaperoned by Ger Millerick but there were gaps created for Gearóid Hegarty to unveil his repertoire.

This was a statement by the All-Ireland champions, who didn’t win a match until the end of the league when they beat Offaly, who everyone had beaten. I watched that game and felt that Limerick didn’t play badly but the amount of work done by John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk in the intervening four weeks has been impressive.

The league narrative that questioned Limerick also suggested that Waterford had closed the gap on them. Tipperary put it up to Liam Cahill's team for long periods this weekend and will be happy with the efforts of Mark Kehoe and the experience of Noel McGrath in attack.

Their defence was also good and overall, the team played smart hurling to put a lot of pressure on Waterford, who aren't really suited by playing in Walsh Park. Players like Jack Fagan, Jack Prendergast and Carthach Daly are very good athletes and need a bit of room to make that county.

They’ll be more effective in places like Thurles, Limerick and if they get there, Croke Park.

On track

They got a major boost from their bench this time, being able to bring on Jamie Barron and Austin Gleeson and when Mikey Kiely and Dessie Hutchinson got the goals they were back on track.

Colm Bonnar will also be pleased with his replacements. Even when going well, Tipp had been struggling in midfield and Dan McCormack sorted that out when introduced.

Next weekend in the Gaelic Grounds is going to be very interesting. Waterford have definitely improved their depth in this year’s league and we’ll find out have they reduced the 11-point gap between themselves and Limerick over the past two years.

I’m not sure the Leinster matches told us an awful lot we didn’t know. Galway will be very disappointed on Saturday not to have won a contest they looked well in control of until the last five minutes.

Wexford will be heartened by the comeback and their second-half performance plus the return of Lee Chin, which was instrumental in the recovery.

For a long time I thought Galway were well set up. Their defence was good and they looked in great physical shape, reflecting the importance that Henry Shefflin places on hard work.

He’ll be pleased with aspects of this. Cathal Mannion withdrew from the full forwards and played the plus-one role around the middle, allowing Joseph Cooney to drop back under the Wexford puck-out.

Brian Concannon and Conor Whelan were lively and threatening and overall Galway were well on top, as Wexford weren't pressuring them and it looked like they would kick on and win comfortably.

A couple of things changed the outcome. Whelan took an amazingly athletic catch after about an hour but that athleticism took a toll when he injured his hamstring and had to go off. The impact on Galway’s attack was significant but didn’t look crucial in the context of this match.

Pretty soon, that changed and it became clear that they would have a struggle on their hands. It shouldn’t have come to that. Joseph Cooney took on a goal chance when a simple pass to Conor Cooney would have guaranteed it. The latter then prevaricated over an injury-time free, which could have restored a three-point lead.

The referee, rightly in my view, whistled him up for it and the chance was lost.

Galway went from looking well organised to falling asunder. I wouldn’t write them off, as Wexford isn’t an easy place to go but the fitness of Whelan in what is such a crammed schedule will be a major concern.